Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Post-traumatic Eye Defect With a Custom Ocular Prosthesis: A Case Report

Loss of an eye can have significant psychological and social effects on a patient's well-being. It may result from trauma, infection, congenital conditions, or maxillofacial malignancy. Rehabilitation of an ocular defect with a prosthesis can restore facial harmony and a natural appearance in anophthalmia patients. It also helps improve confidence, esthetics, self-esteem, and quality of life. Stock-eye prostheses are commonly used for the rehabilitation of ocular defects. However, they may not provide an accurate fit due to size mismatch and poor adaptation to the tissue bed, which can compromise eye movement and esthetic outcomes. This case report describes a simple, cost- and time-effective method for fabricating a custom-made acrylic ocular prosthesis for a patient who underwent evisceration of the left eye following a road traffic accident. A customized prosthesis offers better retention and esthetics than a stock eye and can be used successfully in the rehabilitation of patients with ocular defects. With the development of novel materials and techniques, esthetic expectations for maxillofacial prostheses have increased. Patient-specific customization of an ocular prosthesis can achieve superior aesthetic outcomes.