Aspects of ocular war injuries

Abstract

Eye injuries are common in warfare with an incidence of approximately 10%. They carry a high morbidity, as they can determine an injured person’s future independence and employability. The majority are a combination of primary and secondary blast mechanisms, though tertiary and quaternary types are common. There is some evidence of quinary types from toxic elements from the explosion. Eye protection significantly reduces the incidence and severity of ballistic eye injury but does not eliminate it. Thermal ocular burns are relatively common in warfare. The treatment goal is to minimise limbal stem cell damage. Human amniotic membrane can be used to promote this. Retinal and optic nerve injury following closed eye trauma are currently untreatable, but neuroprotective and neuroregenerative agents are being developed to improve outcomes. Sensory substitution of the sense of touch for sight can help orientate blinded individual in their surroundings. Ophthalmology has a major impact on the lives of the war wounded.

The role of computerised tomography in predicting visual outcome in ocular trauma patients

“…This type of injury is from the impact of shrapnel from the explosive device itself or from exogenous debris propelled by the explosion. 7 The opportunity to perform a comprehensive ophthalmic clinical evaluation is frequently limited in the acute multiple trauma scenario, as the patient is often in an intensive care unit bed, or anaesthetised. Ocular imaging has a major role in collecting clinical data, especially in the unconscious patient.…”

Basic Principles of Plastic Surgical Approach to Patients with High Energy Traumas

“…Gözler normalde vücudun ön yüzünün %0,27'lik kısmını kaplamaktadır. Bununla birlikte, patlayıcılarla yaralanma olasılı-ğı kapladığı alanla kıyaslandığında, 50 kat daha fazla olarak bildirilmiştir (26)(27)(28) . Bu nedenlerle havayolu gü-venliği sağlandıktan sonra kesinlikle göz hastalıkları hekimi tarafından göz muayenesi yapılmalıdır.…”

Etiology and severity of various forms of ocular war injuries in patients presenting at an Army Hospital in Pakistan

“…Previously, before the 20 th century, ocular trauma was only four times of its expected percentage of body surface area alone. Due to new explosives with higher fragmentation, this proportion of ocular involvement has increased to over 50 times the expected percentage 4-6. Thus there has been a gradual increase in the frequency of ocular war injuries from 2% in the 2 nd world war to 3% in Korean and 7% in Arab-Israel conflict 6-8…”