Chorioretinectomy for perforating eye injuries

To report the outcomes of chorioretinectomy in severe ocular injuries where a foreign body penetrated the choroid or perforated the globe.

The study sample consisted of a retrospective, non-comparative, consecutive interventional case series of 13 perforating or severe intraocular foreign body ocular injuries that were treated at a single institution from March 2008 to March 2010. All the patients were operated with 20-gauge three-port pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) by removing the choroid and/or retina with scar tissue at the perforation site of the foreign body. The reports of patients were examined for best-corrected visual acuity, globe survival, retinal detachment status, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

A total of 13 eyes of 13 patients with a mean age of 25.8 ± 9.0 years (range, 11-38 years) were followed for a median of 13.8 ± 5.4 months (range, 8-29 months). The mean time period between injury and the vitreoretinal surgery was 13.6 ± 9.3 days. All had an exit/impact site wound, eight of which were located in the posterior pole, which caused choroidal and retinal incarceration in the macular area. PPV together with chorioretinectomy, endolaser applications, silicone oil tamponade, with/without encircling band, and lensectomy surgery was applied to all of them. Final best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ≥20/200 occurred in 4 of 13 (30.76%) patients. Globe survival rates were 100% (13 of 13), and final retinal attachment rate was 84.6% (11 of 13). The proliferative vitreoretinopathy rate was 2 of 13 (15.3%).

Chorioretinectomy is a surgical option that may decrease post-traumatic proliferative vitreoretinopathy and tractional retinal detachment rates, thus improving final BCVA and increasing globe survival rates when a foreign body penetrates the choroid and perforates the globe.