Changes in the Fundus Caused by Blunt Ocular Trauma

Generally encountered during adolescence, blunt ocular trauma results in a variety of changes in the fundus. Our study investigated the distribution of trauma-induced changes in the fundus on the basis of the incidence and the latent interval between the trauma and the occurrence of the symptoms. In addition, we studied the distribution of the cases in regard to patient age and sex and the cause of the trauma. Included in this study were the 445 eyes, whose fundi could be evaluated, of 435 patients, who applied to the Eye Clinic of the Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, because of blunt eye trauma and patients from private practice during the period between 1980 and 1991. The following are the changes found in the fundus, either isolated or combined, that were detected in the 445 eyes included in this study: retinal detachment (194), retinal and choroidal atrophy (52), vitreous hemorrhage (50), optic atrophy (43), Berlin's edema (42), choroidal rupture (36), macular hole (18), macular hemorrhage (16), retinal hole (9), papillary-macular membrane (8), arterial occlusion (7), evulsion of the optic nerve (5), and retinal-papillary edema (3). Seventy-nine percent were male patients, and 21% were female. The most frequently encountered age group was 11 to 20 years (32.2% of the cases included in our study).