The safety and applications of acellular human dermal allograft in ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery: a preliminary report.

[PURPOSE] To describe the uses and determine the safety of a commercially available acellular dermal allograft in ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery. The existing literature regarding current applications and results using acellular dermal allograft is reviewed.

[METHODS] The study design was a retrospective, noncomparative case series. Participants consisted of 63 consecutive patients undergoing ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery using an acellular dermal matrix graft. The main intervention was placement of a dermal allograft. Outcome measures included the degree of clinical improvement and complications for each patient.

[RESULTS] We used AlloDerm (LifeCell Corporation, The Woodlands, TX, U.S.A.) as a posterior lamellar conjunctival spacer graft, a soft tissue interpositional graft, and an orbital implant wrapping material. Clinical improvement was noted in all cases. There were no complications attributable to the acellular dermal matrix material.

[CONCLUSIONS] We describe several novel ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgical applications using acellular dermal allograft tissue. This material may be used safely as a posterior lamellar conjunctival spacer graft, a soft tissue interpositional graft, and a wrapping material. Clinically, the allograft appears to be biocompatible, nontoxic, and nonallergenic in the orbit, eyelid, and midfacial tissues. Long-term data and studies comparing the efficacy of acellular dermal allograft with conventional materials are necessary.