Intra-ocular foreign bodies; report of 102 cases.

THERE is no universally accepted "best" method of treating an intra-ocular' foreign body apart from its extraction from the globe. The controversial points may be summed up as: (a) anterior or posterior route of extraction, (b) diathermy of scleral field or simple incision, (c) Haab or Mellinger type of giant magnet. An intra-ocular foreign body is a surgical emergency and it is important to keep operative procedures simple and not above the heads ofjunior hospital staff; but ultimately the methods proposed must be judged by their results, visual as well as economic. This type of case is not frequently encountered and it is difficult to draw conclusions from the material of one particular clinic, especially as only one approach is usually followed as a routine for a number of years.