Indications for bone grafting in orbital surgery

Orbital surgery for trauma, benign or malignant tumors almost always involves the restoration of the orbital skeleton. A myriad of materials have been used for this purpose. Complex orbital reconstruction invariably requires the use of bone grafts. Autologous calvarial bone grafts are biologically the most compatible for this purpose with excellent long term results. Graft requirements are determined by proper classification of defects. A surgical reconstruction algorithm has been developed from a series of 18 patients requiring bone grafts for orbital reconstruction from a total of 111 orbital surgeries. The indications, techniques and potential problems are analyzed.