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Samson Lee, MD; Nicole Maronian, MD; Sam P. Most, MD; Mark E. Whipple, MD; Tim M. McCulloch, MD; Robert B. Stanley, MD; D. Gregory Farwell, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005;131:446-450.

Objective  To determine the safety and efficacy of using porous high-density polyethylene (PHDPE) in the repair of orbital defects.

Design  Retrospective case series.

Setting  Academic tertiary care trauma center.

Patients  One hundred seventy patients with orbital defects requiring surgical repair.

Intervention  Orbital defect repair with PHDPE.

Main Outcome Measure  Our review documents surgical results and complications associated with the use of PHDPE.

Results  There was a 6.4% complication rate associated with the use of PHDPE. The infection rate was 1.8%. The persistent orbital malposition rate was 3.5%. The extrusion rate was 0%.

Conclusions  This report represents the largest case series in the literature using PHDPE for orbital reconstructions. The use of PHDPE resulted in a low complication rate and excellent functional and cosmetic reconstructive results. Because of our success with the use of PHDPE, we have changed our clinical practice to minimize the use of autologous graft material, thereby eliminating donor site morbidity in cases involving orbital reconstruction.

Author Affiliations: Departments of Otolaryngology, University of Washington, Seattle (Drs Lee, Maronian, Most, and Whipple); Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington (Drs McCulloch and Stanley); and University of California at Davis, Sacramento (Dr Farwell).