Penetrating eye injuries at the workplace : case reports and discussion

Abstract

We describe two recent cases of penetrating eye injury seen at Mater Dei Hospital, both resulting in a poor final outcome and illustrating the importance of wearing appropriate eye protection at the workplace. In case 1, injury was caused by a metal chip produced by a hammer and chisel that penetrated the sclera and lodged in the vitreous cavity, requiring vitrectomy and lens extraction and ultimately resulting in severe visual loss. In case 2, injury was caused by a shard released from an angle grinder disc that struck the orbit and caused severe disruption of the globe, which required enucleation. This is followed by a discussion on penetrating eye injuries, summarising the initial assessment and management of a suspected penetrating injury in the primary care setting and highlighting the need for urgent ophthalmic referral in cases where the nature of work was suggestive of high-speed projectiles, even where the trauma is seemingly trivial.