Restoration of vision after surgical removal of an intraocular needlefish jaw.

Purpose: To describe the case of a globe-penetrating intraocular needlefish injury.

Methods: Clinicopathologic case report.

Results: A 38-year-old man had a globe-penetrating injury while swimming without eye protection in the Caribbean Sea. The foreign body was impaled in the nasal retina. After surgical removal, retinal repair, and subsequent cataract surgery, the best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in the affected eye. Histopathologic examination of the foreign body was consistent with a needlefish jaw.

Conclusion: This is the first reported case of a successful visual outcome after the surgical removal of an intraocular needlefish jaw. Furthermore, we advise that ophthalmologists should be recommending eye protection to people swimming in waters endemic to this dangerous fish.