Reconstruction of extended orbital floor fracture using an implantation method of gamma-shaped porous polyethylene.

BACKGROUND

The conventional surgical method for reconstructing orbital floor fractures involves restoration of orbital continuity by covering an onlay with a thin material under the periorbital region. However, in large orbital floor fractures, the implant after inserting is often dislocated, leading to malposition. This study aimed to propose a novel implanting method and compare it with existing methods.

METHODS

Among patients who underwent surgery for large orbital floor fractures, 24 who underwent the conventional onlay implanting method were compared with 21 who underwent the novel γ implanting method that two implant sheets were stacked and bent to resemble the shape of the Greek alphabet γ. When inserting a γ-shaped implant, the posterior ledge of the orbital floor was placed between the two sheets and the bottom sheet was impacted onto the posterior wall of the maxilla to play a fixative role while the top sheet was placed above the residual orbital floor to support orbital contents. Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for data analyses.

RESULTS

Compared to the conventional onlay method, the gamma method resulted in better restoration of orbital contents, better improvement of enophthalmos, and fewer revision surgeries.

CONCLUSION

Achieving good surgical outcomes for extended orbital floor fractures is known to be difficult. However, better surgical outcomes could be obtained by using the novel implantation method of impacting a γ-shaped porous polyethylene posteriorly.