Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

ARTICLE
Year
: 1962  |  Volume : 10  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 22--23

A case of injury of right eye by a bear


G Venkataswamy, AV Rajagopalan 
 Madurai Medical College, Madurai, India

Correspondence Address:
G Venkataswamy
Madurai Medical College, Madurai
India




How to cite this article:
Venkataswamy G, Rajagopalan A V. A case of injury of right eye by a bear.Indian J Ophthalmol 1962;10:22-23


How to cite this URL:
Venkataswamy G, Rajagopalan A V. A case of injury of right eye by a bear. Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 1962 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];10:22-23
Available from: https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?1962/10/1/22/39570


Full Text

A young man of 22 years, named Gopal was admitted in the Govern�ment Erskine Hospital, Madurai on 15-9-1959 with a history of injury of the right side of his face.

History:-Our patient, a man from the hill-tribe, went for collect�ing firewood in the forest in the Western Ghats on 13th September evening. Suddenly he was attack�ed by a black bear, which struck him on the right side of his face with paw, and pulled out the right eye.

Condition on Examination:�- Patient was having extensive lace�rated wound of right side of face, including the right maxilla and forehead. The right eye was hang�ing loose with very little attach�ment to the orbit. There was no vision in the eye and it was excised immediately. The wound was sutured and dressed. The patient was discharged after two weeks at his request.

On 22-11-1959, the patient again reported to the hospital, with a complaint of defective vision in the left eye. On examination, there was no evidence of external injury to the left eye or left side of face.

Vision was counting fingers at 1 metre in left eye.

Fundus showed a pale disc.

Blood for Kahn was negative.

There was discharge of pus from the right orbit. X-ray of right orbit revealed fracture of right maxilla and the orbital bones. A study of the visual field of the left eye was made and there was a clear hemi�anopic loss of temporal half. The wound was dressed again and had a course of Penicillin and Strepto�mycin injections and Vitamin B Complex. The wound healed and he was discharged at request on 4-1-1960. Vision at the time of dis�charge in the left eye was 6/12 but still defective in the temporal field as before.

Discussion:-The interesting point in this case is the loss of temporal half of field of vision in the left eye which had no injury to it. The possible explanation is that the right eye was pulled violently by the bear, with the associated injury to the apex of the orbit. The might have involved the optic chiasma, and left optic nerve. There must have been a traction injury to medial fibres of the left optic nerve causing the temporal hemianopia.

Summary:- A case of mauling by a bear with an avulsion injury to right eye with loss of visual field in the left eye is reported. A case like this, has not been reported previously in the Ophthalmic literature.