Elsevier

Ophthalmology

Volume 107, Issue 9, September 2000, Pages 1656-1660
Ophthalmology

Postcontrast magnetic resonance imaging assessment of porous polyethylene orbital implant (medpor)1

Presented in part at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 1998.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0161-6420(00)00249-9Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the fibrovascular ingrowth progression within the porous polyethylene orbital implant (Medpor) with serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Design

Prospective, nonrandomized, comparative (self-controlled) trial.

Participants

Ten patients who underwent enucleation and implantation of a 20-mm porous polyethylene implant wrapped with heterologous sclera.

Methods

Serial precontrast and postcontrast T1-weighted MRI were obtained at 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 months after implantation. The percentage area of enhancement was calculated by use of manual planimetric contouring unenhanced areas at the equator of each sphere on axial and coronal planes.

Results

All the implants showed enhancing areas as early as 1.5 months after enucleation. In 8 of the 10 patients, the areas of enhancement at the equator of the implant consistently showed similar centripetal progression primarily during the first 6 months after enucleation. The presence of fibrovascular tissue at the equator was associated in all cases with enhancing zones at the anterior portion of the implant. None of the implants showed diffuse complete enhancement after 12 months. Two patients failed to demonstrate further enhancement progression 1.5 months after implantation. No histopathologic study to equate with the MRI findings was performed in this series.

Conclusions

Postcontrast magnetic resonance studies seem to be the best-suited imaging modality for assessing the fibrovascular tissue progression into porous polyethylene spheres after enucleation and for identifying patients in whom failure of vascularization occurs. Incomplete vascularization at the equator of the porous polyethylene sphere does not prove an absence of fibrovascular ingrowth in the anterior region. Prior ocular surgery and coexisting arterial hypertension may slow the progression of fibrovascular ingrowth.

Section snippets

Patients and methods

Ten patients in whom the high density PP sphere (Medpor; Porex Technologies Co., Fairburn, GA) was surgically placed into the orbit after enucleation were included in this prospective nonrandomized trial. A standard technique of enucleation was performed by the same surgeon (PDP). All six extraocular muscles were identified and tagged with double-armed 5-0 polyglactin 910 (Vicryl) sutures. Retrobulbar vasoconstrictors were not used. Hemostasis after eye removal was achieved with digital

Results

The 10 patients (8 men and 2 women) ranged in age between 18 and 68 years (mean, 47 years) at the time of enucleation. The clinical data are summarized in Table 1.

The specific diagnoses before enucleation included choroidal melanoma in five cases, blind painful eye with phthisis bulbi in four cases, and endophthalmitis after glaucoma surgery in one case. Five patients (50%) underwent enucleation without prior surgical procedures. Five patients had had prior ocular surgeries, including

Discussion

An essential factor in determining the success of porous allograft material such as hydroxyapatite and polyethylene is the development of fibrovascular tissue within it to ensure its integration into the surrounding orbital tissues and theoretically reduce the incidence of complications such as exposure, extrusion, and infection. In anophthalmic socket reconstruction, the presence of fibrovascularization within the hydroxyapatite sphere is desirable before considering drilling of the implant

References (10)

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1

The authors have no proprietary interest in any of the materials used in this study.

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