Purpose: To evaluate the surgical technique and the motility of non-coupled ocular implant and prosthesis complex, utilizing fornix sutures, by examining the outcomes following evisceration surgery.
Materials and methods: Forty patients with atrophic, phthyiscal, or staphylomatous globes underwent evisceration using the scleral overlapping technique with a transequatorial release incision. All the patients were implanted with high-density porous polyethylene implants. Twenty patients underwent evisceration utilizing fornix sutures. The remaining 20 patients underwent a conventional described evisceration technique. Care was taken that no conjunctival shortening was present. Follow-up was for three months. The patients were all fitted by a non-coupled ocular prosthesis at one month and follow-up continued as usual.
Results: All cases showed functional improvement with an average increase of motility measurements when utilizing the motility-enhancing fornix sutures in comparison to the described conventional evisceration technique. Motility was measured by evaluating horizontal and vertical excursions. Results were documented up to three months postoperatively. Apart from a late postoperative exposure developing in one case, no cases of additional infection, extrusion, or granuloma formation were encountered.
Conclusion: The non-coupled prosthetic motility utilizing motility enhancing sutures was more predictable with superior motility effect over the conventional evisceration technique. However, a longer follow-up and perhaps a larger number of cases may be needed to provide additional support to the findings of this study.