The association between the duration of using ocular prosthesis and upper and lower conjunctival fornix depth

Abstract

Background: Ocular prosthesis is needed to replace the content of eyeball lost due to several factors. Adequate retention of ocular prosthesis requires an adequate upper and lower conjunctival fornix depth. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to evaluate the association between the duration of using ocular prosthesis and upper and lower conjunctival fornix depth. Materials and Methods: A case–control study was conducted in 30 anophthalmic socket patients aged 22–77 that using ocular prosthesis more than 6 months. The contralateral eye with healthy socket was chosen as a control group. Upper and lower conjunctival fornix depth were measure using fornicometer. We design a fornix depth measurer for objective measurement of upper and lower conjunctival fornix depth. Results: From 30 anophthalmic socket patients, males were about 14 times more often than female, with the average age that was 51. The mean upper conjunctival fornix depth in males was 10.8 ± 0.6 and lower conjunctival fornix depth was 6.2 ± 0.8. The mean upper conjunctival fornix depth in females was 10.80± 0.6 and lower conjunctival fornix depth was 5.5 ± 0.7. There is medium relationship between upper conjunctival fornix depth and the duration of using prosthesis (cc = −0.435; P = 0.016) and there is high relationship between lower conjunctival fornix depth and the duration of using prosthesis (cc = −0.551; P = 0.002). Conclusions: There was a significant association between the duration of using ocular prosthesis and upper and lower conjunctival fornix depth.