Preplanned correction of enophthalmos using diced cartilage grafts

A simple technique for correcting post-traumatic enophthalmos is presented. Autogenous costal cartilage was chopped into small pieces and used to fill up the medial orbital wall defect in five patients. The measured degrees of enophthalmos ranged from 2 to 4 mm, and 3-5.5 ml of filler material was introduced into the periorbital space. A conservative approach via upper and lower eyelid incisions was used. It was found that 1.37-1.5 ml of graft material results in 1 mm advancement of globe position. This correlation appears to be a useful treatment guideline for medial orbital wall blow-out fractures. Transient diplopia developed in three cases, but settled within 4 months. There were no other major sequelae after the operation. The follow-up period ranged from 8 months to 3 years. The improved appearance and the stable results confirm the validity of this approach. (C) 2000 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons.