Orbital prostheses anchored by dental implants

Osseointegrated dental implants seem to be applicable for anchoring orbital prostheses in cases of previous extended ablative surgery of the orbit including excenteration of an eye. These implants are applied at stage one and connected with abutments at stage two of a two-stage surgical procedure. Nine Caucasian patients with a total of 25 osseointegrated periorbital dental implants were studied in a prospective longitudinal trial to evaluate the integrated (group A; 14 implants) and separate (group B; 11 implants) variant of step-one operation. All implants were stable and orbital prostheses were worn for an average of three years (four group A patients: 11 implants; three group B patients: nine implants). Only one implant was lost due to load stress without signs of inflammation (group B; after three years). During a mean observation time of 36 months there were only slight skin reactions around the transcutaneous abutments. Group A and group B patients did not differ with regard to their implants. The design of regular dental implants seems to be appropriate for retaining craniofacial prostheses for the above mentioned purpose. The results of this preliminary study suggest that dental implants are functional in the orbit regardless as to whether inserted in an integrated or a separate step-one operation. Future studies would have involve more patients and more implants.