Biodegradable implants for orbital wall fracturereconstruction

ABSTRACT

Background@#Due to the different handling properties of unsintered hydroxyapatite particles/poly-L-lactic acid (uHA/PLLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL), we compared the surgical outcomes andthe postoperative implantation accuracy between uHA/PLLA and PCL meshes in orbital fracturerepair. @*Methods@#Patients undergoing orbital wall reconstruction with PCL and uHA/PLLA mesh, between2017 and 2019, were investigated retrospectively. The anatomical accuracy of the implantin bony defect replacement and the functional outcomes such as diplopia, ocular motility, and enophthalmoswere evaluated. @*Results@#No restriction of eye movement was reported in any patient (n = 30 for each group), 6months postoperatively. In the PCL group, no patient showed diplopia or enophthalmos, while theuHA/PLLA group showed two patients with diplopia and one with enophthalmos. Excellent anatomicalaccuracy of implants was observed in 27 and 22 patients of the PCL and uHA/PLLAgroups, respectively. However, this study showed that there were neither any significant differencesin the surgical outcomes like diplopia and enophthalmos nor any complications with thetwo well-known implants. @*Conclusion@#PCL implants and uHA/PLLA implants are safe and have similar levels of complicationsand surgical outcomes in orbital wall reconstruction.