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Orbital implant exposure more likely in eviscerated vs. enucleated eyes, study finds

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Spherical implants for eviscerated eyes are significantly more likely to become exposed compared with implants for enucleated eyes, a study found.

Amar Alwitry, MRCS, MRCOphth, and colleagues reviewed long-term outcomes for porous polyethylene spherical implants placed in 80 patients treated with enucleation and 26 patients treated with evisceration. Implant size averaged 20.5 mm for the enucleation group and 17.2 mm for the evisceration group.

Five patients (6.3%) in the enucleation group experienced implant exposure at an average of 40 months postoperative; 14 patients (53.8%) in the evisceration group experienced exposure at an average of 63 months postop, according to the study.

"Our data suggest that enucleation should be the procedure of choice when removing an eye to minimize the risk of subsequent complications, particularly orbital implant exposure," the authors said.

The study is published in the January/February issue of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.