Painful blind eye: efficacy of enucleation and evisceration in resolving ocular pain.

AIMS: To assess the effectiveness of enucleation or evisceration in relieving pain from painful blind eyes.

METHODS

24 patients with intractable ocular pain underwent enucleation or evisceration with or without an orbital implant.

RESULTS

Complete pain relief was achieved in all patients at an average time of 3 months (range 1-15 months). Seven patients required further medical or surgical treatment in addition to removal of the globe.

CONCLUSION

Enucleation and evisceration were effective in relieving ocular pain in all patients with a painful blind eye in our study. However, complications of surgery and orbital implants can cause recurrent pain.