Eye Socket Surgery

This surgery involves creating a tissue bed in which an ocular prosthesis can be placed when the eye has been removed.

Prosthetic eye surgery in KZN

Reconstruction of the eye socket will involve surgically reconstructing the socket where your eye used to be. The placement of an ocular prosthetic (also known as an artificial eye) then takes place.

There are various techniques that can be used in the reconstruction of an eye socket. It may have undergone excessive scarring or even a loss of volume. Dr Ladner will need to examine you carefully to determine the best option for you. If your eye has become painful or irreversibly blind, it is removed by enucleation or evisceration.

Eye socket reconstruction techniques can involve either one or a combination of the procedures below:

Dermis fat grafting is when a graft is taken from a cosmetically acceptable location on the patient’s body. This can include your thigh or abdomen. It allows for adequate reconstruction of scarred sockets or ones that have lost volume.
Buccal mucosal grafting is when a graft is taken from the inside of the patient’s mouth. It acts as a suitable tissue that lines the outside surface of the eye socket.
Eyelid reconstruction. This can include the upper, lower or both eyelids. If your eyelid has an associated defect such as ptosis, a lid malposition or scarring this could be addressed at the same time or it may need to be deferred.
Alloderm or amniotic membrane- These grafts are not harvested from the patients body and there will not be a second scar.
Volume replacement can also be performed using artificial material such as porous polyethylene

Surgery risks and complications

As with most surgeries, there are always inherent risks and complications. Patients need to be completely informed about the risks, benefits and alternatives to this procedure. Dr. Ladner will go over the surgery with you but ultimately, it will be up to you to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks.

You could experience excessive bleeding, pain and infection. Known risks and complications can also include failure to improve the function and appearance of the orbit and eye.

Post-op healing times vary from patient to patient. They also depend on the procedure that you are having. Speak to your ophthalmologist about what to avoid and refrain from after your surgery.