[Etiology of enucleations. Apropos of 3,246 cases]

An epidemiological study of the aetiology of enucleation was conducted in patients seen at the Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, Paris. The enucleated globes were systematically sent to the laboratory for histological examination.

Histological results of the cases from the register of Anatomo-Pathology section of the laboratory of the C.H.N.O. des Quinze-Vingts, over a 70-year period from 1925-1995 were used; 3,246 globes were examined, that is, 32.83% of all histological examinations.

In our series, malignant tumours were the most frequent cause of enucleation (32%), followed by trauma (18%), glaucoma (16%), atrophies-dystrophies (16%) and inflammatory causes (12%). Globes without histological pathology were rare (0.12%). The majority of ophthamic tumours with histological confirmation were melanomas (65.2%) in old age and retinoblastomas (32.5%) in the newborn and early infancy. Our results are compared with those of other authors.

Great improvements in medicine and diagnostic techniques have taken place, these last decades, and with the possibilities of early diagnosis, enucleation has become rare as it is being replaced by conservative management.