[Bilateral oedipism: a case report]

Oedipism (or self-enucleation) is a rare form of self-mutilation and most often described in acutely psychotic patients, less frequently among drug addicts or the mentally deficient.

We report a case of a 46-year-old man, who, 3 years after having enucleated his left eye during an acute bout of delirium symptomatic of schizophrenia, mutilated his right eye in the same way. We detail the emergency medical and surgical management indicated in these circumstances.

In most cases described, self-mutilation involves one eye and rarely both. This case of bilateral oedipism is therefore exceptional. In these circumstances, it is necessary to prevent any intracerebral complications induced by the traction exerted on the optic nerve, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, whose signs can be masked by the patient's psychic state, and to take the neuropsychiatric precautions necessary.