Surgical treatment of severely traumatized eyes with no light perception.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anatomical and functional outcomes of surgical intervention in severely traumatized eyes with no light perception (NLP).

Methods: In this prospective interventional case series, 18 eyes of 18 patients with severe ocular trauma whose vision was documented as NLP and with relative afferent pupillary defect of 3 to 4+ underwent deep vitrectomy and other appropriate procedures 1 to 3 times.

Results: Vision was NLP in all eyes at the time of surgery, which was performed 3 days to 14 days after the initial trauma. During a mean follow-up period of 20.5 +/- 5.2 months (range, 11-36 months), except for 1 case of phthisis, other eyes achieved acceptable anatomical and functional outcomes. Postoperative vision was NLP in 2 eyes (11.1%), light perception in 3 eyes (16.7%), hand motions in 4 eyes (22.2%), counting fingers in 3 eyes (16.7%), and 20/200 or better in 6 eyes (33.4%).

Conclusion: After eye trauma, NLP vision and relative afferent pupillary defect of 3 to 4+ alone may not be an indication for enucleation. Performing exploratory surgery within 14 days after the injury may salvage the globe and improve vision; this approach also entails positive psychologic effects for patients and relatives.