V. Ilankovan et Jv. Soames, MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ORBITAL, BUCCAL AND SUBCUTANEOUS FATS - THEIR POTENTIAL IN THE TREATMENT OF ENOPHTHALMOS, British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery, 33(1), 1995, pp. 40-42
Retro-orbital fat volume reduction has been reported in patients with
enophthalmos but could be restored by a suitable fat autograft. Buccal
and subcutaneous adipose tissues were identified as possible donor si
tes. Samples of these and of orbital fat were obtained from fresh cada
vers, and the relative volumes of collagen and of endothelial cells an
d the numerical density of mast cells were compared since these might
influence graft survival. The results demonstrated strong similarities
between orbital and buccal fat which were significantly different fro
m subcutaneous fat. It was concluded that the buccal fat pad would be
a more suitable donor site than subcutaneous adipose tissue to replace
orbital fat loss and that its use merits further investigation.