Complications following enucleation and implantation of multiple glass spheres in the orbit

The technique of subperiosteal implantation of multiple, small glass beads for correction of enophthalmos associated with anophthalmos was first described in 1967. Reported complications of this procedure include ptosis, anesthesia of the distribution of the supraorbital or infraorbital nerve, and migration of the implants into the orbit or sinuses. A case of orbital cellulitis has been reported. We now report a case in which the extremely serious complication of intracranial migration of glass bead implants, with subsequent cerebrospinal fluid leak, occurred 17 years postimplantation.