While there is no intraocular intervention for the blind, for most ophthalmologists, the oculoplastic surgeon still has many procedures to do to improve the patient’s social and mental status. In patients who have lost their eyes due to various reasons (trauma, infection, complication of eye surgery, etc.) and whose eyes have become smaller, the lid falls, the eye shrivels, and most of the time, eye redness and pain accompany the picture.
In these cases, mobile eye prosthesis surgery, which does not see using the tissues of the existing eye, but cosmetically resembles the other eye and acts, becomes necessary. This surgery is performed under general anesthesia. An implant is placed in the eye to enlarge the shrunken eye. This implant provides the main mechanism and housing that enables the movement of the movable eye prosthesis. After the implant is placed, the eyes are kept closed for 1 month, and in this process, the body accepts and adopts this implant as its own part. Subsequently, a prosthesis is placed in front of this implant.
Dr. The 3 most frequently asked questions to Onur Konuk about removable eye prosthesis surgery:
1. Is the entire eye removed in a removable eye prosthesis?
The oculoplastic surgeon decides what kind of surgery he will perform after evaluating the current structure of the eye. There are two types of surgery for removable eye prostheses. The first is evisceration and implantation surgery and is the most commonly used technique. Here, the outer wall and muscles of the eye are preserved and an implant is placed in the eye. Enucleation and implantation, on the other hand, are used less frequently and are generally used today for the treatment of intraocular tumors. In this technique, an implant is placed in the eye socket using the eye muscles. In both techniques, it is waited for 1 month for the implant to heal in place, and then the prosthesis is made.
2. How many types of implants are there, is there a difference between them?
The most commonly used implant types today are implants made of acrylic, silicone, bioceramic and natural coral. Acrylic and silicone implants are not integrated into the body, and implants made of bioceramic and natural coral are porous implants that integrate into the body with blood vessels. With additional surgical procedures, the movements of the prosthesis can be further increased with porosimplants. The suitability of these surgeries and the choice of implant are evaluated by the oculoplastic physician.
3. How much work will I be left behind for prosthetic surgery? How many permits do I need?
The prosthetic surgery patient stays in the hospital for 1-2 days after the operation and is discharged. Within a week, they recover and work at home. Since most patients will want to go to work after the prosthesis is made, since their lids will be closed for 1 month, patients usually rest for 1 month. However, if it is necessary, it is possible to go back to work after 10 days with the eyes closed.