Traumatic injury to the lens

Abstract

Concussive trauma to the eye produces characteristic rosette cataracts, dislocation of the lens, and numerous associated ocular injuries. The mechanism of injury is a traumatic shock wave that progresses through the eye, causing insult to both anterior and posterior structures. Appropriate diagnosis and proper management of traumatic cataract is necessary to restore vision and prevent sight-threatening complications. Traumatic cataract may also result from penetrating injury, retained foreign bodies, electric shock, and radiation. Luxation and subluxation of the lens are additional complications of ocular trauma that require careful management. Surgical extraction is often the treatment of choice for post-traumatic cataractous or dislocated lenses.