Clinical efficacy of peek patient-specific implants in orbital reconstruction

Purpose: To assess the clinical efficacy of custom made PEEK patient-specific implants in treatment of orbital wall defects.

Methods: Forty-five patients with unilateral post-traumatic orbital wall defects were enrolled in the study. They underwent subsequent reconstructive procedures using PEEK patient-specific implants (PSI) or pre-bent titanium plates. All the patients were examined with the standardized algorithm, including local status examination, vision assessment and computer tomography (CT) with measurements of the orbital volume. A comparative analysis of the treatment outcomes in two groups of patients (pre-bent plates/PSI) was performed.

Results: The study findings show an absence of any postoperative infection, inflamation or decreased visual acuity in either group. In PSI group, diplopia after surgery was absent in 82.1% of patients versus 70.6% of controls. The mean duration of surgery was 54.25 ± 16.8 min with PSI application and 82.9 ± 10.8 min with pre-bent plates. The mean difference between the intact and damaged orbital volume was 1.9 ± 1.4 cm³ in the control group versus 0.74 ± 0.6 cm³ in PSI group (р<0.05).

Conclusion: PEEK PSI demonstrated higher clinical efficacy in comparison to pre-bent plates in orbital wall reconstruction especially in restoring the volume and shape of the damaged orbit.