Bottle cork injuries are fairly common events in specific seasons, areas

ROME — Bottle cork injuries can cause disabling functional sequelae and are not as infrequent as generally believed, said one surgeon speaking here at the International Society of Ocular Trauma meeting.

Bottle corks cause a distinct type of trauma, “characterized by a violent compression phase followed by rapid decompression, with lengthening of the anteroposterior axis beyond its physiological range. Most common consequences are hyphema, iridodialysis, traumatic cataract, vitreous hemorrhage, peripheral retinal breaks, retinal edema and secondary glaucoma,” said Gian Maria Cavallini, MD.

The most common cause of the injury is sparkling wine being accidentally opened as it is pulled from a shelf. Right eyes are more commonly injured than left, as most people hold the bottle in their right hands, Dr. Cavallini said. The average bottle cork can hit the eye in as little as 0.1 seconds, he said.

Plastic corks are more dangerous than traditional corks or metal caps, he said. “They accumulate more kinetic energy at the time of bottling, and have consequently a more explosive discharge,” Dr. Cavallini said.

His hospital is located in a region known for producing sparkling red wine, he said. “Bottle cork injuries are relatively common here. Through a retrospective study of our cases, we found that these injuries more often occur in October, at the time of wine fermentation, and January, when more often the sparkling wine is consumed to celebrate the New Year,” he said.