Orbital wall restoring surgery with primary orbital wall fragments in blowout fracture

Abstract

Most orbital surgeons believe that it’s difficult to restore the primary orbital wall to its previous position and that the orbital wall is so thin that cannot be firmly its primary position. Therefore, orbital wall fractures generally have been reconstructed by replacing the bony defect with a synthetic implant. Although synthetic implants have sufficient strength to maintain their shape and position in the orbital cavity, replacement surgery has some drawbacks due to the residual permanent implants. In previous studies, the author has reported an orbital wall restoring technique in which the primary orbital wall fragment was restored to its prior position through a combination of the transorbital and transantral approaches. Simple straight and curved elevators were introduced transnasally to restore the orbital wall and to maintain temporary extraorbital support in the maxillary and ethmoid sinus. A transconjunctival approach provided sufficient space for implant insertion, while the transnasal approach enabled restoration of the herniated soft tissue back into the orbit. Fracture defect was reduced by restoring the primary orbital wall fragment to its primary position, making it possible to use relatively small size implant, furthermore, extraorbital support from both sinuses decreased the incidence of implant displacement. The author could recreate a natural shape of the orbit with the patient’s own orbital bone fragments with this dual approach and effectively restored the orbital volume and shape. This procedure has the advantages for retrieving the orbital contents and restoring the primary orbital wall to its prior position.