Extraoral Implants for Anchoring Facial Prostheses: Evaluation of Success and Survival Rates in Three Anatomical Regions

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the success and survival rates of extraoral implants for the fixation of facial prostheses in three anatomical regions. Materials and Methods: Subjects were consecutive patients with facial defects who underwent implant placement by the same surgeon in the orbital, nasal, and auricular regions between 2003 and 2012. After a minimum of 4 months of osseointegration, prostheses were anchored to the implants, and the patients were monitored for 11 to 111 months. Success rate, implant survival time, and occurrence of previous radiotherapy were evaluated. Rate of implant survival was estimated as a function of the anatomical region of the three groups (orbital, nasal, or auricular), and confidence intervals were calculated using Kaplan-Meier analysis with α = .05. Results: In the 68 patients' 138 fixed implants, 48 showed defects in the orbital, 9 in the nasal, and 11 in the auricular region. The success rates and survival times were 95.9% and 8.6 years for the orbital, 92.9% and 2.8 years for the nasal, and 92% and 9.0 years for the auricular region, respectively. The success rate of implants in previously irradiated regions was 90.3% for the orbital and 100% for the auricular region. None of the patients was irradiated in the nasal region. Conclusion: No significant differences in implant success or survival were observed with regard to anatomical region or previous irradiation. Keywords: extraoral implants, facial defects, facial prosthesis, osseointegration, survival rate