Ocular prostheses in the last century: a retrospective analysis of 8018 patients

To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with ocular prosthesis to assess the causes of eye loss in the different genders and age groups, and their incidence over the years.

We retrospectively examined the rates of ocular prosthesis application and related causes in the period from 1927 to 2011 in a referral center in Rome, Italy, and compared them over time. We also compared the results within the population in terms of age and gender.

Of 8018 ocular prosthesis wearers, 63% were males and 37% were females, with a mean age of 29 years. The most frequent cause of ocular prosthesis application was a traumatic event (54%), with work-related eye injuries being the most frequent single cause of ocular trauma reported. Other frequent causes were end-stage ocular diseases, tumors, and malformations, without significant differences in gender. Tumors and malformations showed a slight increasing trend over time, while end-stage ocular diseases and work-related injuries remained unchanged, and other traumatic events decreased.

The constantly high frequency of ocular prosthesis application for work-related injuries and end-stage ocular diseases suggests that preventive measures for these events have not been addressed accordingly, and might represent a neglected public-health issue.