Individualized implants using point-of-care printed models in the treatment of orbital blowout fractures
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026
3D Planning and Printing of Patient Specific Implants for Reconstruction of Bony Defects
Published on: August 4, 2020
Timothy W Neal1, Raymond P Shupak2, Roderick Y Kim2
1Department of Surgery, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, UT Southwestern/Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX, USA.
Objective:
This case series aims to highlight the digital workflow used by our institution to treat orbital fractures by creating individualized implants using point-of-care, 3-dimensional (3D) printed models.
Study Design:
The study population comprised consecutive patients who presented to John Peter Smith Hospital with isolated orbital floor and/or medial wall fractures from October 2020 to December 2020. Patients treated within 14 days of their initial injury and with 3 months postoperative follow-up were included. Bilateral orbit fractures were excluded because an intact contralateral orbit is needed for 3D modeling.
Results:
A total of 7 consecutive patients were included. The orbital floor was involved in 6 of the fractures, whereas 1 fracture involved the medial wall. All patients with preoperative diplopia, enophthalmos, or both had resolution by the 3-month postoperative follow-up appointment. Postoperatively, there were no complications in all patients included.
Conclusions:
The point-of-care digital workflow presented allows for the efficient production of individualized orbital implants. This method may produce a midface model in hours that can be used to pre-mold an orbital implant to the mirrored, unaffected orbit.
