Controversies in the management of posterior segment ocular trauma

Despite steady advances in surgical instrumentation and technique, ocular trauma continues to be a leading cause of visual loss in the United States. Almost half of the patients with posterior penetrating injuries are left with severe visual impairment. Controversy persists over the optimal management of the injured eye, including the proper use of prophylactic antibiotics, prophylactic cryopexy, and prophylactic scleral buckling. The role and timing of vitrectomy surgery in severe ocular trauma also remain topics of considerable debate, as does the role of vitrectomy in the management of magnetic intraocular foreign bodies. Each of these issues is discussed, with particular emphasis on conflicting views presented in the relevant literature.