What does the eye socket do?

What does the eye socket do?

The eye socket, or orbit, is the bony cup surrounding your eye. Seven different bones make up the socket. The eye socket contains your eyeball and all the muscles that move it. Also inside the socket are your tear glands, cranial nerves, blood vessels, ligaments, and other nerves.

What is socket contracture?

Orbital socket contracture was defined as orbital inflammation with proptosis followed by the development of enophthalmos and radiographic evidence of residual fibrotic changes in the orbit.

What are orbital implants?

Orbital implants are medical prosthetics used to replace the orbital volume and allow some amount of realistic movement of a prosthetic eye following enucleation (or evisceration). In 1884 implants were first described by Mules, and since then different implant materials and shapes have been tried.

What is post-enucleation socket syndrome?

Enucleation without using an orbital implant often causes enophthalmos, deep upper eyelid sulcus, ptosis and laxity of the lower lid. These signs constitute the post-enucleation socket syndrome.

Can you break an eye socket?

If the bones around your eye are hit hard enough, they can break. This is called an orbital fracture. If your eye socket is treated successfully, and the injury to your eye or tissues around your eye was not too severe, you may not have any long-lasting effects from an eye socket fracture.

How long do orbital implants last?

The integrity of the materials of a prosthetic eye made at Ocular Prosthetics, Inc. will last for at least ten years. However, most people will need a replacement at approximately 3-5 years due to the settlement of soft tissue in the eye socket.

What are orbital implants made of?

Orbital implants are made of hydroxyapatite or porous polyethylene and frequently are used in orbital reconstruction after enucleation or evisceration surgery. Infection of these implants is a rare event, with only a handful of cases reported in the literature.

What happens if you shatter your eye socket?

Indirect orbital floor fracture (“blowout fracture”) — This occurs when the bony rim of the eye remains intact, but the paper thin floor of the eye socket cracks or ruptures. This can cause a small hole in the floor of the eye socket that can trap parts of the eye muscles and surrounding structures.

How long is recovery from enucleation?

You will be able to return to normal activity soon after surgery. The orbit should heal quickly and you should be able to return to school or work within 2 to 6 weeks. You should not lift more than 10 pounds, strain, or rub your eye for at least 14 days after surgery.

What is an anophthalmic socket?

An Orbital Eye Socket, in which the eye is damaged or removed, is called an anophthalmic socket. Once an eye is removed, if a ball implant is not put in to replace the volume of the removed eye, the eye socket can become contracted.

What is a contracted socket?

A contracted socket is a complication of an anophthalmic socket which results in the inability to support a prosthesis. It is an uncommon but significant problem for the ophthalmic plastic surgeon. A poorly fitting prosthesis results in subpar cosmesis, can be damaging to the psyches of patients, and can result in additional injury and infection.

Why does my prosthetic eye look enophthalmic?

These patients have insufficient eye socket lining as well as deficiency in the soft tissue of the orbital content, so that even after the eye socket is successfully reconstructed the prosthetic eye will look enophthalmic.

What are the different grades of contracted sockets?

Contracted Socket Severity Classification: The soft tissue sockets are divided into five grades for the sake of convenience in management of contracted sockets. Grade-0: Socket is lined with the healthy conjunctiva and has deep and well formed fornices.