Pars plana vitrectomy in ocular injury with intraocular foreign body

BACKGROUND: We evaluated 70 cases of ocular injuries with intraocular foreign bodies to determine the results of surgical management. METHODS: The site of penetration was cornea in 58 (82.9%), sclera in 8 (11.4%), and limbus in 4 (5.7%) eyes. The foreign body was in the vitreous in 40 (57.1%) and embedded in the retina in 30 (42.9%) cases. Before pars plana vitrectomy, the most common findings were found to be lens perforation (77.1%), vitreous hemorrhage (45.7%), endophthalmitis (20%), hyphema (4.3%), and retinal detachment (2.9%). RESULTS: After pars plana vitrectomy, visual acuity improved in 39 (55.7%), did not change in 19 (27.2%), and decreased in 8 (11.4%) cases. We observed secondary glaucoma in 11 (15.7%), retinal detachment in 10 (14.3%), and phthisis bulbi in 3 (4.3%) cases postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Pars plana vitrectomy is found to be an effective therapeutic approach in removing intraocular foreign bodies, but the preoperative and postoperative complications determine the visual outcome.