Long-term follow-up of blowout fractures of the orbital floor reconstructed with a polyglactin 910/PDS implant

Resorbable alloplastic materials are used in many surgical applications. This retrospective study evaluated the clinical outcome after reconstruction of traumatic orbital floor defects using a polyglactin 910/PDS implant (Ethisorb (TM)). Seventy patients with isolated blowout fractures of the orbital floor resulting in defect sizes of up to 2.5 cm(2) were included in this study. All patients were clinically examined 5 days after surgery at the time of suture removal (T1) and 18 months postoperatively (T2). Diplopia was graded as significant diplopia or diplopia in extreme gaze. At T1, diplopia was observed in 9% of the patients, swelling of the periorbital region in 6%, and enophthalmus in none of the patients. No persistent complications were observed at T2. Reconstructive surgery of the orbit is one of the most demanding challenges in maxillofacial surgery. For traumatic defects of the orbital floor, reconstruction using a polyglactin 910/PDS implant (Ethisorb((TM))) seems to be a reliable method for the repair of small-to-moderate defects.