2020 Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 161-168
Introduction: Treatment of orbital floor fractures （OFFs） using an absorbable plate is a common procedure, but there is no current consensus on surgical follow-up. We examined positional changes of orbital bone fragments after treatment of OFFs and multiple follow-up regimens.
Methods and Materials: Data on the treatment of OFFs using absorbable plates between April 2009 and March 2017 were analyzed. Twenty-eight cases, all of which were able to be evaluated postoperatively, were included. Using CT coronal images, longitudinal changes were measured over time by calculating the distance between the bone fragment and absorbable plate （FPD）, the distance between the plate and upper orbit （POD）, and total of both distances （TD）. We compared these changes between the unsintered hydroxyapatite （u-HA）+ poly-L-lactide （PLLA） and polyglycolic acid （PGA）+ PLLA groups.
Results: The FPD decreased in all 28 cases after surgical intervention; however, the POD did not change from the preoperative value. The FPD of the u-HA + PLLA group was markedly shortened, taking approximately 34-37 weeks.
Discussion: There was a noticeable difference in FPD between plates with different follow-up periods. It may be necessary to use a plate capable of maintaining its strength for 34-37 weeks to sufficiently support the orbital bone fragment when reconstructing the orbital floor.
