Alloplastic implants are known to be inert for many years, though complications are infrequently reported many years after their insertion. We report the case of a patient who had undergone a blow-out fracture repair five years before the discovery of a hematic cyst. He had been free of symptoms for the first five years after his orbital floor repair but then developed pain on eyeball movement and persistent vertical diplopia, which finally led to surgical intervention. At surgery, a hematic cyst was found to have formed around the implanted silastic plate. When alloplastic material is used in orbital fracture repair, we should be alert for late complications which may occur many years after surgery.
Adult ; Biocompatible Materials ; *Blood ; Bone Cysts/diagnosis/*etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Orbital Diseases/diagnosis/*etiology ; Orbital Fractures/diagnosis/*surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; Prostheses and Implants/*adverse effects ; Reoperation ; Silicone Elastomers/*adverse effects ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We report the case of a patient with a painful subcutaneous nodule, measuring 13 mm × 17 mm, at the pretibial graft aperture site, which presented two years after a successful anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with an autologous hamstring graft. A bioabsorbable poly-L-lactide interference screw was used for graft fixation at the tibial aperture. The patient underwent surgical excision of the lesion and curettage at the tunnel aperture. Grossly, extruded fragments of the screw and a thick pseudocapsule of surrounding tissue were excised. There was no communication between the tunnel aperture and the knee joint. The graft was also intact. Histological analysis revealed fragments of the bioabsorbable material in association with fibrous and granulomatous chronic inflammatory cells. This was consistent with a foreign body reaction. The patient subsequently recovered and resumed preinjury level of activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing a nodular granulomatous type reaction to foreign bioabsorbable poly-L-lactide screw material subsequent to an anterior cruciate reconstruction surgery.
Absorbable Implants ; adverse effects ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; surgery ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction ; adverse effects ; methods ; Arthralgia ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Bone Cysts ; complications ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Bone Screws ; adverse effects ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Reoperation ; Tibia ; Young Adult