Custom made ocular prostheses

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Who needs Ocular Prosthesis?

  1. Patients who have undergone enucleation
    What is enucleation? Enucleation is the removal of the eye. After enucleation the patient should be fitted with a surgical conformer to avoid contraction of the socket. Three weeks later when the socket is calm and swelling is gone the patient attends the ocularist to be fitted with a custom made ocular prostheses.

  2. Patients who have undergone evisceration.
    What is evisceration? Evisceration is the removal of the contents of the eye leaving back the sclera and muscles. After evisceration, the patient is fitted with a surgical conformer. Three weeks later the patient visits the ocularist to be fitted with a custom made ocular prostheses.

  3. Patients with microphthalmia.
    What is microphthalmia. Microphthalmia is congenital, born with a small eye, no surgery required in this case. The patient is referred to ocularist and is fitted with a cosmetic shell over the microphthalmic eye. Patients with a microphthalmic eye are to be fitted at an early stage to avoid complications of socket growth.

  4. Patients with anophthalmia.
    What is anophthalmia. Anophthalmia is congenital ( born with no eye ) Patients are referred to the ocularist at early stage to be fitted with ocular prostheses to avoid contraction of the socket.

  5. Patients who have undergone trauma or desease.

    These patients usually have a disfigured or a phthysical eye following trauma. 97% of these cases are fitted with a cosmetic shell thus avoiding enucleation or eviceration surgery.
 

The Clinical Fitting and Technical Fabrication.

First appointment
An impression procedure is carried out to obtain an accurate model of the socket using alginate or impression material. This procedure is called the impression technique.

Second appointment
A wax model of the impression is made and sculptured to obtain optimum contour, eyelid closure, mobility and comfort. Accurate measurements are obtained of the patient’s remaining iris and pupil diameter is agreed with the patient.

Third appointment
The artwork of the iris is hand painted by the ocularist in the patient’s presence to obtain the best possible duplication of appearance to match the patient’s remaining natural eye.

Fourth appointment
The artificial veins are added with the presence of the patient to obtain the best possible match.

Fifth appointment
The patient is fitted and a full instruction is given on how to remove, refit and care for the ocular prostheses.
 

Materials used

In the laboratory procedures, the materials used are the most recent medical Polymethylmethylacrylate/ P.M.M.A., which must be polymerized correctly to avoid acute conjunctival irritation.