Bacteriology of the socket in patients with prostheses.

Fifty-two unilaterally enucleated patients were studied for symptoms, signs, and actual presence of bacteria in the socket and fellow eye. The majority (85%) of asymptomatic sockets were found to have a mixed culture of pathogenic organisms. Sockets had a significantly (P = .001) greater frequency of pathogenic organisms than the fellow eye. Cross contamination does not appear frequently but is a definite possibility. We recommend culture and treatment of the asymptomatic socket before surgery on the remaining eye.