Orbital floor reconstruction with flexible Ethisorb patches: A retrospective long-term follow-up study

Objective. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether a flexible, biodegradable material (Ethisorb) shows better long-term results with regard to diplopia, bulbus motility, and exophthalmos/enophthalmos compared to the use of lyophilized dura-patches and polydioxanone (PDS) foils. Methods. During a period of 6 years 435 patients with an orbital fracture were investigated retrospectively. Inclusion criteria were patients with fractures of the orbital floor with a maximum size of 2 × 2 cm. Bulbus motility, exophthalmos, enophthalmos, and diplopia were investigated during a period of 2 years. Results. One hundred twenty orbital floors were reconstructed by lyophilized dura-patches, 81 by PDS, and 136 by Ethisorb. An exploration without an implantation was performed in 91 patients. The long-term investigation 12 to 15 months after surgery showed an exophthalmos and enophthalmos incidence of 1%, whereas a reduced bulbus motility and diplopia were found in 5% and 4%, respectively. Fifteen to 24 months after surgery 2% of the patients had an exophthalmos and 1% had an enophthalmos. A reduction of bulbus motility was found in 4% of the patients, and diplopia was found in 3%. The use of Ethisorb resulted in a significantly lower incidence of exophthalmos 3 months after surgery compared to PDS. Conclusion. The low rate of acquired bulbus motility demonstrates acceptable results in using Ethisorb in the floor of the orbit. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2003;95:16-22)