Ostrich eggshell as an onlay bone-graft substitute for orbital blow-out fractures

Abstract

Objective: To assess the biological behavior of an ostrich eggshell implant as an onlay graft on the orbital floor. Methods: This is an experimental study of 12 rabbits implanted with ostrich eggshell (6 rabbits with 5mm- and 6 rabbits with 10mm-diameter grafts) subperiosteally in the right orbital floor. The right orbit was harvested en bloc 1, 2, and 3 months after onlay. Radiographic studies were done one day after implantation and prior to harvest. The specimens were submitted for gross and microscopic studies. Results: All animals showed normal wound healing. The grafts were stable and no foreign body reaction was observed 1, 2 and 3 months postimplantation. The size of the ostrich eggshell implants remained the same. There was no change in radiodensity at 3 months observation. Conclusion: The results of this study support the potential application of ostrich eggshell as bone substitute for orbital floor fractures.

Keywords

• eggshell
• blow-out
• implant
• orbit
• graft