Late reexposure after upper eyelid tarsoconjunctival flap for exposed porous orbital implant.

The records of four patients with exposed porous orbital implant treated with the upper eyelid tarsoconjunctival Hughes flap were reviewed. The tarsoconjunctival Hughes flap was fashioned for two patients with recurrent orbital porous implant exposure and two patients with primary orbital porous implant exposure (5 to 6 mm at largest dimension; mean, 5.6 mm). There were two hydroxyapatite and two high-density polyethylene implants. In all patients, reexposure (2 to 3 mm at largest dimension; mean, 2.5 mm) occurred 6 to 24 weeks (mean, 13 weeks) after the tarsoconjunctival Hughes flap procedure at the junction of the flap and the socket surface conjunctiva. Mean follow-up duration was 18.7 months (range, 7 to 27 months). Linear late reexposure is the main drawback of the upper eyelid tarsoconjunctival Hughes flap to cover an exposed orbital porous implant.