An unusual case of penetrating eye injury caused by a bird: A case report with review of the pertinent literature

Eman M Al-Sharif; Abdullah S Alkharashi

doi:10.1016/j.sjopt.2018.12.007

An unusual case of penetrating eye injury caused by a bird: A case report with review of the pertinent literature

Saudi J Ophthalmol. 2019 Apr-Jun;33(2):196-199. doi: 10.1016/j.sjopt.2018.12.007. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

Authors

Eman M Al-Sharif¹, Abdullah S Alkharashi²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 56227, Riyadh 11554, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 52607, Riyadh 11573, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Penetrating eye injuries caused by bird pecking are uncommon with less than 40 cases reported in the literature. In this article, we present a case of penetrating ocular injury caused by a bird along with pertinent literature review. An otherwise healthy 56-year old man presented to the emergency department complaining of right eye severe pain and decreased vision following trauma caused by a bittern bird. The patient was diagnosed with penetrating ocular injury & he underwent primary repair. On follow up, he was found to have traumatic cataract, which was operated, however, the surgery was complicated with IOL dislocation into the vitreous cavity. The patient was referred to retina service where he underwent pars plana vitrectomy with IOL repositioning in the sulcus. After two months, the patient's uncorrected visual acuity improved from counting fingers at 2 feet to 20/30^-2. This case serves as a reminder that bird pecking is one of the causes of penetrating eye trauma.

Keywords: Bird pecking; Bittern bird; CF, Counting Fingers; F, Female; LP, Light Perception; M, Male; NLP, No Light Perception; OD, Right Eye; OS, Left Eye; Open globe injury; Penetrating eye injury; VA, Visual Acuity.