Intraorbital Foreign Body: Clinical Presentation, Radiological Appearance and Management

Abstract

Intraorbital foreign bodies usually occur after a high velocity injury such as gunshot or industrial accidents; more rarely they occur following trivial trauma. A retained foreign body can give rise to serious complications, the most devastating of which is loss of the eye. This retrospective, interventional case report reviews the clinical features, radiological appearance and surgical management of two patients who presented at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman with intraorbital foreign bodies. Details of ocular history, preoperative ocular examination findings including visual acuity, surgical procedure and subsequent management were noted. The two patients, aged 10 years and 9 years old respectively, sustained orbital trauma with sharp objects. Both patients were found to have intraorbital foreign bodies that were documented clearly by computed tomography (CT) scans of the orbit. The first patient presented straight after injury, had no ocular involvement, underwent immediate surgical exploration and ended up with full recovery. The second patient presented to us after a delay of 4 days, and was found to have endophthalmitis. This patient ultimately lost all visual function in the affected eye. A CT scan is the modality of choice for orbital foreign body detection and localization. Early surgical exploration and foreign body extraction greatly influence the visual prognosis and final outcome.