European Perspective of Ocular Trauma Management: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Considerations Based on Our Experience

Ocular traumas represent a complex and heterogeneous nosological entity showing high variability both in terms of etiology and clinical expression. The most affected patient categories are children and workers; this data has important implications in terms of long-term prognosis, posttraumatic deficits as well as healthcare and economic cost. Indeed, ocular trauma may cause severe permanent alterations of ocular anatomy as well as visual loss. These patients may show the involvement of all ocular structures, thus requiring the intervention of an experienced surgeon in the pole to pole surgery. Moreover, multidisciplinary intervention may be required, e.g., in cases of the polytraumatized patient, making management and treatment of these cases complex and tricky. It is worth noting that often emergency care units are not able to deal with such events, thus making it necessary to refer the patient to specialized facilities for complex trauma management. However, posttraumatic visual deficits or blindness cannot always be prevented.