[Causes and mechanisms of orbit and eye injuries]

Clinical findings on 219 ball injuries demonstrate that whereas air-filled balls do not produce fractures they do produce skin and eyeball lesions. In 264 cases, orbital fractures, including blow-out-fractures, were caused by inelastic objects hitting the maxillo-facial region. In this group, no trauma of an air-filled ball, especially no tennisball trauma, was seen. The pathomechanism of elastic and inelastic objects is presented with special regard to the effect of suction at the moment the air-filled ball returns from the orbital region.