Eye gutting
La eye evisceration is an ophthalmological operation that is performed to remove certain parts of the eye And it is done only in very specific cases. This intervention does not carry significant risks, and normally the patient can go home on the same day of the operation.
Eye gutting
La eye evisceration is an ophthalmological operation that is performed to remove certain parts of the eye And it is done only in very specific cases. This intervention does not carry significant risks, and normally the patient can go home on the same day of the operation.
What is eye gutting?
Evisceration is a surgical procedure through which the iris, cornea and retina are removed of the eye, but the sclera (which is the outermost part of the eye), and the muscles around the eye are preserved.
In which cases is evisceration performed?
Evisceration is indicated in the following cases:
- Blind or very painful eyes, for non-tumor causes. That is, patients who have pain that cannot be controlled by taking medications, which prevents them from leading a normal life.
- Pthisis, which is the loss of volume in the eyeball due to disease or trauma. The patient does not see, and also wants to improve his ocular aesthetics.
- Buphthalmos, that the enlargement of the eyeball, caused for example by a congenital glaucoma.
- Endophthalmitis (intraocular infections) in which vision cannot be restored by other means.
Evisceration should not be confused with enucleation of the eye, since enucleation is the process by which the entire eyeball is removed. In addition, in enucleation the muscles surrounding the eye are disinserted, to later be sutured to the implant.
Enucleation is an intervention that is indicated in different cases to those of the evisceration of the eye: when there is malignant intraocular tumors that cannot be operated on in any other way, and in patients in whom a severe eye trauma It has caused a serious destructuring of the membranes and the contents of the eye, and evisceration cannot solve it.
How is the evisceration of the eye performed?
El process that is carried out to perform an eye evisceration is as follows:
Previous Exams
First a complete ophthalmic exam, and the eyelid and periocular areas are analyzed. The fundus is also examined, and photographs are taken that will be used to check the patient's condition before and after the intervention.
During the intervention
Evisceration is an eye operation that it is done in the operating room and is usually outpatient, which means that the patient usually returns home the same day of the operation, although on certain occasions he may stay overnight. In the ocular evisceration operation we can apply general anesthesia, or local anesthesia with deep sedation.
In the operation the surgeon empty the ocular content by extraction of lthe cornea, iris and retina, preserving both the sclera and the muscles of the eye. He will make some cuts on the sides of the sclera, in order to insert an implant. This prosthesis is the same size as the eyeball, so that the ophthalmic cavity does not run out of volume.
The muscles remain in place, which is why this procedure has a few very good results on an aesthetic level.
Postoperative of ocular evisceration
After the intervention the surgeon will blindfold of the patient for 24 hours. This will follow an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory treatment, and for a few days a series of cures will have to be performed.
The first weeks after the operation you have to apply ice to the area. During the first days you should keep a relative rest, without gaining weight or exercising.
Between seven and eight days after the operation, the patient will be able to lead a normal life. At that time, the prosthetist will place a temporary external prosthesis.
About a month after evisceration, the surgeon will check if the eye is healing as it should. At that point, the prosthetist can adapt a definitive external prosthesis, with the objective that the gutted eye has a similar appearance to a normal eye.
Today there are many types of prosthetics, which can be classified according to the type of material used for their manufacture (porous polyethylene, hydroxyapatitia, bioceramics and silicone), and according to their internal structure, shape and relationship with the structures of the eye after being implanted.
To choose the most suitable prosthesis in each case, you have to analyze patient characteristics, in order to choose an option that fits comfortably and achieves a good aesthetic result.
Possible risks of eye gutting
This intervention does not present great risks, since evisceration is a simple surgical technique if performed by a specialist.
It is especially important that the patient complies with the postoperative guideline, take antibiotics to prevent infection, anti-inflammatories to fight inflammation, and pain relievers to relieve typical postoperative pain. Notably infection is very rare after evisceration of the eye.