The 'baseball' orbital implant: a prospective study.
The 'baseball' orbital implant was described by Frueh and Felker in 1976. Although this implant was originally described for use as a secondary implant, it has also been widely used as a primary implant at the time of enucleation. This prospective study evaluated the effectiveness of this implant used both primarily and secondarily. Forty-four patients were implanted between April 1990 and May 1991, 19 of the implants being primary and 25 secondary. A standardised operative and post-operative protocol was followed. The mean follow-up time was 31 months (range 24-36 months). The patients were evaluated for the degree of volume replacement, implant and associated prosthesis motility, secondary eyelid and socket problems, patient satisfaction, the need for further surgery and post-operative complications. The overall results achieved by primary implantation were superior to those of secondary implantation. Our results suggest that this implant provides a satisfactory functional and cosmetic rehabilitation of the anophthalmic patient with few complications.
Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, UK.
B
B
Leatherbarrow
J
J
Kwartz
S
S
Sunderland
R
R
Brammar
E
E
Nichol
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005133:Eye Movements; D005137:Eye, Artificial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009915:Orbit; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011474:Prosthesis Design