Most serious complication seen in other eye after traumatic injury to one eye: March 2005, September 2008
Ans. C: Sympathetic ophthalmia Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a condition in which serious inflammation attacks the sound eye after injury (including intraocular surgeries) to the other. It is the most dreaded complication of unilateral severe eye injury, as it can leave the patient completely blind. Symptoms may develop from days to several years after a penetrating eye injury. Sympathetic ophthalmia is thought to be an autoimmune inflammatory response toward ocular antigens, specifically a delayed hypersensitivity to melanin-containing structures from the outer segments of the photoreceptor layer of the retina. It is thought that Louis Braille, who injured his left eye as a child, lost vision in his right eye due to SO Floating spots and loss of accommodation are among the earliest symptoms. The disease may progress to severe iridocyclitis with pain and photophobia. Commonly the eye remains relatively painless while the inflammatory disease spreads through the uvea. The retina, however, usually remains uninvolved. Papilledema, secondary glaucoma, vitiligo and poliosis of the eyelashes may accompany SO. Diagnosis is clinical, seeking a history of eye injury. An impoant differential diagnosis is Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome (VKH), which is thought to have the same pathogenesis, without a history of surgery or penetrating eye injury. Definitive prevention of SO requires prompt (within the first 7 to 10 days following injury) enucleation of the injured eye. Evisceration--the removal of the contents of the globe while leaving the sclera and extraocular muscles intact--is easier to perform, offers long-term orbital stability, and is more aesthetically pleasing. But evisceration may lead to a higher incidence of SO compared to enucleation. Immunosuppressive therapy is the mainstay of treatment for SO. When initiated promptly following injury, it is effective in controlling the inflammation and improving the prognosis.
Subconjunctival hemorrhage
Corneal edema
Sympathetic ophthalmia
Sudden loss of vision