Artificial eye amplitudes and characteristics in enucleated socket with porous polyethylene spherical and...

To compare artificial eye amplitudes in enucleated socket with porous polyethylene either spherical or quad-motility implant and study the characteristics of artificial eyes fit with the two orbital implants.

A total of 21 patients were prospectively studied who underwent enucleation because of an intraocular melanoma and the randomization defined a porous polyethylene either spherical or quad-motility orbital implant. Measurements of the amplitude of the artificial eye were obtained with prism and digital photos. The software Scion Image analyzed the digital photos (www.scioncorp.com) and the quantitative data were allocated to groups. The measurements (height, length, thickness) and weight of the 21 artificial eyes were analyzed. Student's t-test was performed to determine the significance of difference between groups (p<0.05).

There was no statistically significant difference of the artificial eye amplitude analyzed by means of prisms between both orbital implants (p>0.05 for all directions). On analyzing the digital photos, the artificial eye with spherical implant showed higher artificial eye amplitude downward (p=0.009) among patients older than 55 years old, rightward (p=0.036) and downward (p=0.008) among the 9 patients with enucleated right eye. Height and length were similar in the 21 artificial eyes but those artificial eyes fit with quad-motility orbital implants were statistically significant thicker (p<0.001) and heavier (p=0.001).

The similar amplitude of movement of artificial eyes was observed with both spherical and quad-motility orbital implants. Artificial eyes fit with quad-motility orbital implant are significantly thicker and heavier than those fit with spherical orbital implant.