Managing a bullet inside the orbit in lieu of a rifle – A video demonstration

Abstract

Bullet injuries to the orbit are rare occurrences in a civilian’s life and are usually associated with severe ocular morbidity. The amount of damage inflicted by a bullet depends on various factors like the distance of the shooter from the victim, the speed of the bullet, the angle of impact, the site of damage, etc. The authors here report a case where a male teenager presented to the ophthalmology casualty with a history of gunshot injury to his left eye. A foreign body was noted to be lodged in his left orbit on radiological imaging causing vitreous haemorrhage and traumatic optic neuropathy. The foreign body was then surgically removed from the orbit. It was the bullet of a rifle 3.2 cm long. Intraorbital foreign body management must be tailored according to their type and location as well as to the clinical characteristics of the patient