Dr. Luque Aranda presents the case of a 29 year old male after suffering an accidental traumatism in the right eye caused by a pellet. After performing several tests such as a Computerized Tomography (CT), it was not ruled out that the pellet was occupying the scleral thickness, so the object was removed through the operating room, where the subconjunctival location was confirmed. After an ophthalmoscopic study the patient showed ocular hemorrhage, retinal edema and chorioretinitis sclopetaria rupture. The patient evolved favorably after surgery. As follow-up continued, he developed a tear that was photocoagulated without further serious problems.
What is chorioretinitis sclopetaria?
This is a lesion that occurs in non-penetrating ocular trauma caused by high-velocity projectiles. It has also been called traumatic chorioretinal rupture and Lagrange’s proliferative chorioretinopathy. In other words, two mechanisms of injury can be described: a direct one, adjacent to projectile contusion, where the rapid deformation of the globe and its shock waves act; and an indirect one due to the transmission of shock waves through the ocular wall affecting the macula.
Explanation of the case
The 29-year-old male presented to the emergency department due to accidental trauma to the right eye from a cartridge shotgun pellet. On examination by the ophthalmologist, he had a visual acuity of unity in both eyes. The biomicroscopic examination of the right eye showed a pellet in the area near the nose and a hyposphagm in this area.