Repair of orbital blowout fractures with Marlex mesh and Gelfilm

Thirty patients with surgically treated blowout fractures are reviewed. Of these, 3 had Caldwell-Luc procedures with antral packing, 23 had allograft implantation over the orbital floor fracture, and 4 required neither implantation nor antral packing. In 11 patients, with extensive defects, Marlex mesh was employed as the only support. Gelfilm implants were placed in 7 patients with relatively smaller defects. Three patients had Selastic implants and 2 had Mersilene allografts. There were no major complications in any of the 30 patients in the series, and overall results with allograft implants were satisfactory. Properties of the various allografts and indications for their use are discussed.