ORBITAL Prostheses
Acrylic Oculars | Silicone Eye Prostheses
Overview
For patients who are missing an eye , or have undergone an enucleation or orbital exenteration, an acrylic ocular prosthesis is made to match the exact color of the opposite eye. A custom silicone prosthesis can be fabricated to fill the orbital cavity, mirroring the intact anatomy. Patients are often advised to wear glasses in order to protect the remaining eye and to mask the border connection of the prosthesis.
Process
The first step in the fabrication of an orbital prosthesis is to make a custom acrylic ocular. An ocular is sized and hand-painted to perfectly match the colors and details of the opposite eye of the patient. The ocular is then positioned within the orbit to determine the “primary gaze” - the optimal position of the ocular. A wax model is sculpted around the ocular to match the opposite eye. A multi-part mold is made from the wax sculpture. A custom palette of pigmented silicones are mixed and painted into the mold, resulting in a perfect duplicate of the wax sculpture in silicone, which matches the opposite anatomy. Finally, eyelashes and eyebrow hairs are manually punched into the silicone to appropriately match the color and density. An orbital prosthesis can be easily positioned and removed by the patient.
