The post-operative conformer is a prosthetic aid made of clearly PMMA, silicone or white resin (no iris and vessels painted). It is applied immediately after surgery to prevent socket and eyelid retraction. This application is enough to maintain the socket volume for a few weeks, and prosthetic application is easier.

There are conformers of different sizes and shapes, simple or with one or more little holes to allow the instillation of eye-drops or medicaments. The shape of conformer should fit as much as possible with the upper and lower fornices with the purpose of keeping them wide. Application of conformer is recommended after the fornix deepening surgery or lysis of adhesions of conjunctiva because during wound healing it’s important to avoid the re-adhesion of tissues just separated.

The compressive conformer, instead, is a simple conformer applied with the aid of a massive bandage. In this way it exerts a useful force to maintain the prosthesis inside the sockets where it’s requested a greater storage capacity or where you must increase the fornices size.

Pediatric conformers are different because normally are shaped as a blepharostat with the aim to reshape eyelids and gradually increase the eyelid functionality, often greatly compromised in congenital anophthalmia or after enucleation followed by conservative radiotherapy.