Management of a blind painful eye.

Wilmer Eye Institute, 600 North Wolfe Street, Maumenee 505, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. smerbs@jhmi.edu

Debilitating ocular pain poses a significant challenge to the ophthalmologist. When the pain is intractable and the eye has very poor vision and is disfigured, surgical removal of the eye has traditionally been the definitive treatment of choice. Because many people are uncomfortable psychologically with removal of their eye, however painful, and other patients are not good surgical candidates, an alternative to enucleation is sometimes warranted, and injection of a neurolytic substance can often induce long-lasting anesthesia for a blind painful eye. This article reviews a range of options for management of blind painful eye from anesthesia to enucleation.

PMID: 16701166 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]