USE OF VICRYL (POLYGLACTIN-910) MESH IMPLANT FOR CORRECTING ENOPHTHALMOS AND HYPOOPHTHALMOS - A STUDY OF 16 PATIENTS

Vicryl mesh (polyglactin-910) implants were used to reconstruct the orbital floor to correct enophthalmos or hypo-ophthalmos (globe ptosis) in 16 patients. The main advantages of Vicryl mesh over other alloplastic implants is that (a) it is absorbed by host tissues, and, once absorbed, it will not cause long-term complications; (b) it is layered and is cut from folded sheets into the appropriate size, shape, and thickness for the treatment of enophthalmos or hypo-ophthalmos; and (c) it is soft and pliable and, therefore, is unlikely to erode orbital structures. We followed all 16 patients for a minimum period of 6 months after surgery and observed no significant adverse reactions to the mesh; 15 of the patients had good surgical results with a mean improvement of 1.4 mm in enophthalmos and 0.6 mm in hypo-ophthalmos. After surgery, one patient with combined medial wall and floor fractures developed enophthalmos that was 2 mm more severe than the degree of preoperative enophthalmos. Vicryl mesh should be considered an alternative to both nonautoge-nous implants and autogenous grafts in orbital floor fracture repair especially for correction of mild and possibly moderate degrees of enophthalmos and hypo-ophthalmos. © 1990 Raven Press, Ltd., New York.