Medial Wall Orbital Reconstruction using Unsintered Hydroxyapatite Particles/Poly L-Lactide Composite Implants

• Published in: Archives of craniofacial surgery Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 125 - 130
• Main Authors: Park, Hojin, Kim, Hyon-Surk, Lee, Byung-Il
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Korean
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association 01.12.2015; 대한두개안면성형외과학회
• Subjects: Original; 성형외과학; Orbital fractures; Absorbable implants; Orbital implants
• ISSN: 2287-1152; 2287-5603
• DOI: 10.7181/acfs.2015.16.3.125

Poly-L-lactide materials combined with hydroxyapatite (u-HA /PLLA) have been developed to overcome the drawbacks of absorbable materials, such as radiolucency and comparably less implant strength. This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of u-HA/PLLA material in the repair of orbital medial wall defects. This study included 10 patients with pure medial wall blow-out fractures. The plain radiographs were taken preoperatively, immediately after, and 2 months after surgery. The computed tomography scans were performed preoperatively and 2 months after surgery. Patients were evaluated for ease of manipulation, implant immobility, rigidity and complications with radiologic studies. None of the patients had postoperative complications, such as infection or enophthalmos. The u-HA/PLLA implants had adequate rigidity, durability, and stable position on follow-up radiographic studies. On average, implants were thawed 3.4 times and required 14 minutes of handling time. The u-HA/PLLA implants are safe and reliable for reconstruction of orbital medial wall in terms of rigidity, immobility, radiopacity, and cost-effectiveness. These thin yet rigid implants can be useful where wide periosteal dissection is difficult due to defect location or size. Since the u-HA/PLLA material is difficult to manipulate, these implants are not suitable for use in complex 3-dimensional defects.