RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ORBIT WITH POLYVINYL SPONGE

Abstract

WITH fractures of the face and orbit as the result of accidents in both civilian and military states, plastic and ophthalmic surgeons are on the lookout for materials and methods that will improve the results of facial and orbital reconstruction and that also will be practical to apply. For many years the chief materials used in reconstructive operations of this type have been bone and cartilage. These substances are still widely used, but, because of the difficulties of obtaining, cutting, and molding them, many attempts have been made to replace them with nonliving foreign materials. Most of these materials were created as the result of the emphasis on reconstructive operations that came about during and after World War II. Although many of the materials were practical in application, they had one great disadvantage as compared with bone and cartilage—they were not viable and behaved as foreign bodies in the tissues