A follow-up study of orbital prostheses supported by dental implants.
OBJECTIVE
This study reports on the use of osseointegrated dental implants for anchorage of orbital prostheses.


METHODS
Nine patients were treated with 25 implants inserted in the periorbital area after exenteration of the globe. Implants of 9, 11, and 13 mm length, with a diameter of 3.5 mm, were used.


RESULTS
All implants were stable at the stage 2 operation and could be connected with abutments. In 7 cases (19 implants), orbital prostheses were fabricated and have been worn for an average of 3 years. One of the 19 implants was lost after 3 years because of load stress. During the mean observation period, there were only slight skin reactions around the transcutaneous abutments.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that normal dental implants can be used to anchor craniofacial prostheses without altering their design or the surgical method.
Kovács
A F
AF
Department of Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, Frankfurt University Medical School, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. A.Kovacs@em.uni-frankfurt.de
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015921:Dental Implants; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008447:Maxillofacial Prosthesis; D008875:Middle Aged; D020273:Orbital Implants
D015921:Dental Implants