OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and the indication of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the treatment of exposure of orbital implants.

DESIGNRetrospective and observational case series.

METHODSWe reviewed 41 patients (41 eyes) suffering exposure of orbital implants from Jan. 2000 to June 2006. The study group patients with mild exposure received combined treatment with bFGF and antibiotic drops, and while the control group patients with mild exposure were treated with antibiotic drops only. The study group patients with moderate and severe exposure received combined treatment with bFGF and antibiotic drops, and after 2 months they were subjected to amniotic membrane transplantation, while the control group patients with moderate and severe exposure underwent amniotic membrane transplantation after using antibiotic drops. Observation of the growth of conjunctival epithelium and comparison of the healing rate of the two groups.

RESULTSThe healing rates of the mild, moderate and severe exposure study group were 100% and 92.3%. The healing rates of the mild, moderate and severe exposure control group were 55.6% and 66.7% respectively. The difference of the healing rates of the mild exposure study group and the control group was significant (P=0.033). And the difference of the healing rates of the moderate and severe exposure study group and the control group was not significant (P=0.167).

CONCLUSIONbFGF may promote obviously the healing of orbital implant exposure, particularly it can be the first choice for the treatment of mild degree exposure. For the moderate and severe cases, it can be administered before surgical repair to enhance neovascularization and will tend to increase the success rate of surgical repair.