[Perforating eye injuries with multiple intraocular foreign bodies following military maneuver accidents]

Nine patients sustained massive ocular injuries mostly bilateral, caused by practice ammunition fragments during military maneuvers. The injuries consisted of severe contusion and perforation damage to the cornea, traumatic cataract, vitreous hemorrhage, and multiple small intraocular foreign bodies frequently impacting on or penetrating the retina. Extraction of the foreign bodies was difficult, usually because they could not be localized preoperatively, because of optical problems due to corneal opacifications and frequent hemorrhages, and because of a lack of posterior vitreous detachment. Nevertheless, in the 15 eyes which underwent secondary surgery travel vision (1/35 to 0.2) was achieved in three and good visual acuity (0.3 to 1.0) in eight. Only four eyes ended up with practical blindness (LP to hand movements) due to retinal traction detachments with proliferative vitreoretinopathy.