Retinal detachment due to ocular penetration. I. Clinical characteristics and surgical results
M. S. Cox and H. M. Freeman
The records of 74 patients--young and almost exclusively males--with
retinal detachment due to ocular penetration were reviewed to study the
characteristics and surgical results of this type of traumatic retinal
detachment. There was a high incidence of industrial and domestic
accidents. The incidence and degree of myopia were significantly lower than
in nontraumatic cases of retinal detachment. The time interval between the
injury and the detection of the retinal detachment was variable. Many of
the eyes with longer latent intervals had classic signs of traumatic
retinal detachment. The most common type of retinal break was a dialysis in
the oral zone at the posterior vitreous base border. The most common cause
of these retinal breaks was severe traction from contracting vitreous bands
and membranes that followed the loss of vitreous gel from the eye. Surgical
results were relatively poor; recurrence was common because of progressive
vitreous pathology. Postoperative traction on the vitreous base by the
continued shrinkage of vitreous membranes was noted in 50% of the eyes that
contained such membranes preoperatively.
