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Published on: January 7, 2019
A case report of bilateral autoenucleation and its prevention
Ashima V Kumar1, Craig E Geist
1SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA. avkumar@gwu.edu
Purpose:
To report a case and review both the ophthalmic and psychiatric literature to document the pattern of this self-mutilation and review prevention techniques.
Design:
Case report and retrospective review.
Interventions:
Surgical repair of the orbits in a patient who autoenucleated both eyes.
Main Outcome Measures:
To determine methods to prevent self-destructive behavior.
Results:
Up to 75% of these acts are performed by psychiatric inpatients as a form of focal suicide. Methods to prevent self-inflicting behavior include differential reinforcement, boxing gloves, soft cotton gloves, a bubble helmet, facial screening, electrical stimulation, and tarsorraphy.
Conclusions:
Prevention of autoenucleation requires early identification of susceptible subjects and timely initiation of preventive measures.
