Use of cartilage graft for an orbital socket implant

After enucleation, a spherical implant of some material is placed into the muscle cone to give bulk to the orbital socket area. This also allows better movement of the artificial eye prosthesis, which is placed in the socket to give the appearance of a normal eye. If there is loss of the spherical implant because of infection or extrusion for other reasons, there is a resulting enophthalmos of the prosthetic eye. Replacement of this spherical implant with another implant of alloplastic material often results in secondary extrusion. In other cases, there is downward displacement of the spherical implant with pressure against the prosthesis and lower lid. This causes undue stretching of the lower fornix and lid area with inability to hold the prosthesis in place. To correct these two problems, we have found that an autogenous cartilage graft is useful for an implant that will not extrude and that holds its position. Examples of this technique and preoperative and postoperative cases are described here. We have used this technique over the past 11 years and have achieved good success in 15 patients.