Purpose: To compare the outcome of evisceration with primary orbital implant in blind eyes with and without fulminant infection (endophthalmitis/panophthalmitis).
Methods: Retrospective nonrandomized comparative interventional case series. Patients with a minimum postoperative follow-up of 6 months were considered for inclusion. Thirty-four eyes of 34 patients were included. Sixteen eyes were infective and 18 noninfective. Nonporous silicone implants were used for all cases and the main outcome measure was successful retention of the primary implant. Major and minor complications and successful prosthesis fitting were also noted.
Results: All except 3 cases were able to retain the primary implant successfully and all but 2 patients underwent successful prosthesis fitting. Major complications included implant extrusion in 3 cases (2 infective, 1 noninfective) and implant exposure in 1 case (noninfective). The difference in major complications between the groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.66, Fisher exact test).
Conclusion: Our data suggest that evisceration with primary orbital implant is a feasible option in fulminant endophthalmitis/panophthalmitis and provides a good postoperative cosmetic outcome to the anophthalmic socket at an economical cost.
Keywords: Endophthalmitis; evisceration; panophthalmitis; primary implant.