You may be a candidate for the Bio-eye Orbital Implant

You are a candidate for this procedure if you must have an eye removed (enucleation) or the contents of an eye removed (evisceration). But, if you have previously had your eye removed, even many years ago, and are not satisfied with your appearance or movement, you may be a candidate for a secondary orbital implant. In this surgery the old implant is removed, if one was originally placed, and replaced with the Bio-eye implant.

You should consult your eye care specialist or ocularist to determine whether you could benefit from the Bio-eye orbital implant. If you would like a referral to a doctor who is using Bio-eye implants, call: Toll free USA (800) 424-6537 or (858) 259-4355.

The Procedure

The Bio-eye orbital implant is surgically placed within the orbit at the time the eye is removed, and the tissues are closed over the implant. The implant will not be seen. A temporary conformer (a clear plastic spacer) is then placed on top of the tissues covering the implant and under the eyelids to maintain the space for the future artificial eye.

Eight weeks later, a visit is made to an ocularist. This highly skilled specialist will create a detailed artificial eye; often astonishing in its lifelike appearance that exactly matches your natural eye. The artificial eye fits over the tissues that cover the implant and under the eyelids, and will move as the implant moves or "tracks" along with the natural eye.

If further movement is desired, your eye care specialist can perform a simple procedure to connect the artificial eye to the implant, by means of a peg. In this optional procedure, a hole is placed in the implant and a peg is inserted into the hole. The latest in biomaterials are used for the pegging system and titanium is now the material of choice.

Once the peg is placed in the implant, a month of healing is suggested before the ocularist modifies the back of the artificial eye to accept the head of the peg, thus forming a direct link to the artificial eye. The artificial eye can be worn as usual during this month of healing.

The peg placement procedure can only be performed after the implant has had time to fill with vascular tissues from the orbit, usually about six months after implantation.

A bone scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test should be performed to confirm whether the implant has had adequate vascular ingrowth and is ready to accept a peg. These tests, as well as the peg placement procedure, are usually painless.

Once your ocularist has properly fit the artificial eye, the full benefits of the Bio-eye orbital implant will be available to you. Of course, the final results in each case will vary depending on the condition of the orbit, muscles, surrounding tissues and the skill of the doctor and ocularist.

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