Ophthalmic Care of the Combat Casualty

摘要

Along with saving the lives and limbs of our soldiers, sailors, and airmen injured in battle, the preservation of their eyes and eyesight is an extremely important goal. Despite comprising as little as 0.1% of the total body surface area and 0.27% of the frontal silhouette, the proportion of eye injuries in nonfatal casualties has been escalating in recent conflicts (Table). Several reasons account for the increasing risk of eye injuries: (1) preferential exposure of the eyes during combat (eg, foxholes, tank turrets); (2) improved body armor protecting the head, thorax, and abdomen, leading to fewer fatal injuries to these regions of the body; (3) improved surgical techniques and rapid evacuation of the wounded, which allow physicians to repair wounds that at one time would have resulted in the death of a soldier; and (4) improved munitions, which create more and smaller fragments that can cause severe, even blinding, injuries.