NOTES ON THE PATHOLOGY AND SURGICAL TREATMENT OF SYMPATHETIC OPHTHALMIA

The subject of the present paper is one of great practical importance because on the correct judgment of the surgeon, in cases of injury, the future vision of the patient may depend. It has been known for a long time that if one eye receives a perforating wound, occasionally the other eye, hitherto sound, may be affected by an inflammation of malignant nature leading to atrophy and blindness. Since no cause other than the injury of the first eye is found for the involvement of the second eye the disease has come to be called sympathetic ophthalmia. This disease does not occur when the wound in the injured eye heals correctly and when the function of the eye is not interfered with. It supervenes in the uninjured eye only when the first eye shows signs of iridocyclitis as a result of traumatism. From clinical observation it is known that