Remove, rotate, and reimplant: a novel technique for the management of exposed porous anophthalmic implants in eviscerated patients

PURPOSE: To describe and to evaluate a new and relatively easy technique for porous implant exposure repair. METHODS: Eleven patients with exposed porous orbital implants after evisceration were included in this study. Five patients with large exposures (diameter>7 mm) and six patients with small exposures of orbital implants (diameter<7 mm) that persisted despite posterior vaulting of the prosthesis and usage of antibiotics and steroids for more than 6 weeks, underwent revision surgery with the remove-rotate-reimplant technique (3R technique). Negative microbiological culture taken from the exposed socket surface before surgery was the major inclusion criterion. Five patients with insufficient conjunctival tissue also underwent additional mucosa or hard palate grafting of the defect in addition to the remove-rotate-reimplant procedure. RESULTS: Patients have been followed up for more than 18 months (ranging from 18–30 months). None of them received motility peg insertion after repair. Implant reexposure was detected in one patient during the follow-up period, which was managed by dermis fat grafting with implant removal. CONCLUSION: The remove-rotate-reimplant technique is an effective surgical method for repairing exposed porous anophthalmic implants after evisceration with a 90% success in this study. It avoids the removal of the implant from the sclera, which is a traumatic procedure that may lead to the tearing and loss of scleral tissue covering the implant. Saving the porous implant and scleral cover reduces the surgical time and cost