title: The osseointegration technique for the rehabilitation of the exenterated orbit.
abstract: Osseointegrated implants can be used successfully to support maxillofacial prostheses. Six patients (aged 37 to 80 years; average age, 68 years) underwent orbital exenteration for eyelid neoplasms infiltrating into the orbit. Each patient underwent a two-stage osseointegration procedure in preparation for fitting an orbital prosthesis. In the first stage, three or four bone-anchored fixtures were placed into the bony orbital rim. Skin penetration and abutment placement were performed in the second-stage operation, performed 3 to 6 months later. Successful osseointegration was achieved in 17 (94.4%) of 18 fixtures in five nonirradiated patients. All five patients were successfully fitted with an implant-retained prosthesis. One patient who underwent irradiation lost all four fixtures that had been placed. This patient chose to wear a black patch rather than a conventional prosthesis held in with adhesive. Average follow-up was 16 months for the five patients who were successfully fitted with orbital prostheses (range, 6 to 30 months).
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City 52242.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Nerad
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: LaVelle
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fyler
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Brånemark
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005137:Eye, Artificial; D005142:Eyelid Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008447:Maxillofacial Prosthesis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009915:Orbit / Q000601:surgery*; D009918:Orbital Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D016348:Osseointegration; D011474:Prosthesis Design