March 16, 2009
1 min read
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You can't undo trauma

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Patients who suffer traumatic ruptured globes are challenges. The eye has sustained a grave injury, and the risks of vision loss are high.

Assault with a broken beer bottle resulted in severe trauma to this patient.
Assault with a broken beer bottle resulted in severe trauma to this patient.

There's even the risk of sympathetic ophthalmia to the other eye.

Surgical repair can be challenging due to the extensive injuries to many parts of the eye.

A bigger challenge can be explaining the nature and severity of the injury to the patient and the fact that it is simply not possible to undo severe trauma. In the picture here, the patient underwent many surgeries over the course of 2 years: ruptured globe repair, cataract removal, iris repair, retinal detachment repair, vitrectomy, sutured IOL, corneal transplant and more. But no matter how many beautifully performed surgeries this patient undergoes, there is simply no way to return this eye to normal.

The ruptured globe patients are a constant reminder that it's far easier to prevent trauma than to repair trauma.