Surgical Management of the Contracted Socket

A contracted socket, which may lead to cosmetically unacceptable appearance, poor fitting, or inability to retain ocular prosthesis, is a psychologically devastating problem for patients. The goal of corrective socket surgery is to provide an appropriate ocular prosthesis that would simulate the normal fellow eye of the patient in all respects. The two most important aspects that need to be addressed are adequate fornices to support the prosthesis and adequate orbital volume. This chapter presents essentials of assessment and management of contracted sockets, both congenital and acquired.