The congenitally contracted socket often poses a challenging management problem; early surgery may be necessary in spite of the attendant difficulties. A series of patients is presented, with particular emphasis upon the use of a new hydrophilic expander in the severely contracted socket, to illustrate our current management protocol. Factors pertinent to orbital development and growth are discussed. Two types of contracted sockets are identified that appear to correlate with the presence or absence of an eye or ocular remnant. Use of a hydrophilic expander in the severely contracted anophthalmic socket with marked lid phimosis has enabled subsequent fitting and retention of a hard conformer in many of these cases, thus obviating early interventional surgery.