A integridade da face é condição que interfere no cotidiano do indivíduo sendo que a perda do globo ocular tem um impacto psicológico, demandando uma condição de adaptação. Intervenções como a reparação protética parecem produzir mudanças nos âmbitos emocional e comportamental. Objetivo: Identificar os aspectos psicossociais relacionados à ausência unilateral do globo ocular e avaliar a adaptação dos pacientes usuários de prótese ocular. Métodos: Para realização da pesquisa foi utilizado como instrumento de coleta de dados um roteiro de entrevista adaptado aos objetivos desse trabalho. Este foi composto por duas partes, a primeira referente a dados gerais de identificação do paciente e aspectos socioeconômicos. A segunda parte incluiu dados específicos sobre a perda e reabilitação ocular com 31 questões. Vinte e oito pacientes voluntários foram entrevistados. Resultados: A maioria era do gênero masculino (53,57%). A idade variou entre 11 e 67 anos. O trauma foi o fator etiológico prevalente (60,71%). Foi encontrada diferença estaticamente significativa (p<0,05) entre os escores dos sentimentos da época da perda e atualmente (z Wilcoxon=-4,41; p<0,001). Conclusão: Os dados evidenciaram dificuldades emocionais no processo inicial de contato com a condição de perda do olho e o papel da prótese como elemento de inclusão social, ressaltando a relevância do trabalho em equipe e do acesso a serviços de protetização para a adaptação desses pacientes.

Facial integrity is a condition which interferes in the daily life of the individual. The loss of an eyeball has psychological impact, requiring adaptation. Interventions such as prosthetic repair seem to lead to emotional and behavioral change. Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify the psychosocial aspects related to unilateral anophthalmic socket and evaluate patient adaptation to prosthesis. Methods: All participants responded to a semi-structured interview. This was composed of two parts, the first regarding the general data of patient identification and socioeconomic aspects. The second part included information about eye loss and rehabilitation, with 31 questions. Twenty-eight volunteers were interviewed. Results: Most were male (53.57%). Ages ranged between 11 and 67. Trauma was the prevalent etiological factor (60.71%). A significant statistical difference (p<0.05) was found between the scores of the feelings of loss before and after prosthesis (z Wilcoxon=-4.41; p<0.001). Conclusions: The data showed emotional difficulties in the initial contact with the loss of an eye and the role of the prosthesis as an element of social inclusion, stressing the importance of teamwork and access to fitting services in adapting these patients.

The purpose of this study was to assess color alteration of the paints used for iris painting in artificial eyes. Five disks of heat cured acrylic resin were confectioned by microwave energy for each paint analyzed, in a total of 40 specimens. Each specimen consisted of a colorless acrylic resin disk and another of equal size, of scleral white colored acrylic resin, with the painting interposed between the two disks. The specimens were submitted to an accelerated aging process in a chamber under ultraviolet radiation for 1,008 hours. To assess color variation, a reflective spectrophotometer was used. The results were statistically analyzed by ANOVA and the Tukey test (p < 0.05). All the paints underwent chromatic alteration. The oil paint presented the highest resistance to accelerated aging.

Prosthetic eyes are artificial substitutes for the eyeball, made of heat-curing acrylic resin, serving to improve the esthetic appearance of the mutilated patient and his/her inclusion in society. The aim of this study was to assess the flexural strength of two heat-curing acrylic resins used for manufacturing prosthetic eyes. Thirty-six specimens measuring 64 x 10 x 3.3 mm were obtained and divided into four groups: acrylic resin for artificial sclera N1 (Artigos Odontológicos Clássico, São Paulo, SP, Brazil), heat-cure water technique (GI) and microwave-cured (GII); colorless acrylic resin for prosthetic eyes (Artigos Odontológicos Clássico, São Paulo, SP, Brazil), heat-cure water technique (GIII) and microwave-cured (GIV). Mechanical tests using three point loads were performed in a test machine (EMIC, São José dos Pinhais, PR, Brazil). The analysis of variance and the Tukey test were used to identify significant differences (p < 0.01). Groups GII and GIV presented, respectively, the highest (98.70 ± 11.90 MPa) and lowest means (71.07 ± 8.93 MPa), with a statistically significant difference. The cure method used for the prosthetic eye resins did not interfere in their flexural strength. It was concluded that all the resins assessed presented sufficient flexural strength values to be recommended for the manufacture of prosthetic eyes.