Vitrectomy for perforating eye injuries from shotgun pellets.

Pars plana vitrectomy and scleral buckling were performed on 22 eyes of 19 patients for treatment of perforating eye injuries from shotgun pellets. We reviewed the intraoperative findings at the time of vitrectomy to determine what factors might influence final visual acuity. The presence of a total retinal detachment at vitrectomy portended a poor prognosis when compared with eyes without total retinal detachment, as only one of ten eyes with total retinal detachment obtained useful vision (P = .002). Preoperative separation of the posterior vitreous was associated with a favorable outcome when compared with the absence of posterior vitreous detachment (P = .035), as ten of 16 eyes with posterior vitreous detachment at the time of vitrectomy ultimately achieved functional vision. The locations of the exit wounds did not affect visual success in the overall series of patients. However, in the patients who achieved visual success, exit wounds outside the vascular arcades were more likely to be associated with final visual acuities of, or better than, 20/70 than were those within the arcades (P = .022). Other prognostic factors, such as the number of perforations and the use of cryotherapy, were also examined for their effects on final visual outcome. However, these factors did not appear to affect visual outcome statistically.