Background-Ocular injuries caused by BB guns (civil air-powered guns) are serious and may result in total loss of vision. These injuries occur more frequently in children and young adults.
Methods-A total of 16 patients with BB gun injuries were seen between September 1996 and September 1999 in Farabi hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences and a private eye clinic. Six patients had non-perforating eye injuries. Among 10 cases of perforating eye injuries, 2 had single and 8 had double perforations. All of perforated eyes underwent scleral buckling, lensectomy, vitrectomy and silicon injection, after a period of one to two weeks of observation or until a retinal detachment, retinal traction or posterior vitreous detachment was noted on ultrasonography.
Results-Of the 16 patients with BB gun injuries, 15 (93.7%) were males and 1 (6.3%) was female with a variation of age ranging from 3 to 50 years (mean=20.6); 9 (56.2%) of them were 18 years of age or younger. All patients had a preoperative visual acuity of at least light perception. They all had a final visual acuity of hand motion or better. Ten patients achieved a score of 1/10 or better and 5 patients had scored 3/10 or above.
Conclusion-This study shows that various vitreo-retinal surgical procedures can help retain vision in some cases of ocular injuries caused by BB gun pellets.