[Retinal detachment after perforating eye injuries. II. The interval between injury and retinal detachment and factors which may have contributed to the development of retinal detachment].

The authors operated in 1977-1987 by the cryosurgical method 69 patients after injuries on account of detachment of the retina. Detachment developed in 37 patients after simple perforation of the eye and in 32 patients after perforation of the eye with a foreign intraocular body. In all patients the perforation reached as far as the vitreous body. The interval injury--detachment was assessed retrospectively. The authors found that for the development of post-traumatic detachment of the retina a period of two years after the injury is decisive--within this period detachment of the retina occurred in 55% of the cases. Another 31.9% of the cases occurred during the late post-traumatic period, i.e. 6-40 years after injury. In 21.7% patients anamnestic data were found which were, no doubt, associated with the detachment of the retina: surgical trauma in 8.7%, direct contusion of the eye in 10.1% and lifting a heavy burden in 2.9%.