Successful conjunctival socket expansion in anophthalmic patients until the age of 2 years: an outpatient procedure.
OBJECTIVE
To report the results of a simple outpatient method for soft tissue socket expansion in young children with congenital anophthalmos.


METHODS
Seventeen congenital anophthalmic sockets of 15 infants of a mean age of 4.2±4.4 months were fitted with specially designed serial solid acrylic shapes or hydrogel expanders using cyanoacrylate for eyelids closure when using the latter.


RESULTS
At the age of 2 years, the mean horizontal eyelid length increased from a mean of 11.6±4.5 to 19.4±4.6 mm and the volume of the last expander from a mean of 0.6±0.2 to 2.0±0.3 cm(2). The specially designed acrylic shapes could be a substitute to the custom-made molds, which require general anesthesia.


CONCLUSIONS
Successful increase in the horizontal eyelid length as well as the conjunctival socket volume could be achieved by a simple outpatient procedure without the need for repeated hospitalization and general anesthesia in these infants.
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Rania Assem
RA
El Essawy
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Sameh Hassan
SH
Abdelbaky
congenital anophthalmia; custom-made conformers; cyanoacrylate glue; hydrogel expanders
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