ETIOLOGY OF ENUCLEATION - A REVIEW OF 324 6 CASES

Purpose Art epidemiological study of the netiology of enucleation was conducted in patients seen at the Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtal mologie des Quinze-Vingts, Paris. The enucleated globes were systemati cally sent to the laboratory for histological examination. Methods and materials Histological results of the cases from the register of Anat omo-Pathology section of the laboratory of the C.H.N.O. des Quinze-Vin gts, over a 70-year period from 1995-1995 were used; 3 246 globes were examined that is, 32.83 % of all histological examinations. Results I n our series, malignant tumours were the most frequent cause of enucle ation (32 %), followed by trauma (18 %), glaucoma (16 %), atrophies-dy strophies (16 %) and inflammatory causes (12 %). Globes without histol ogical pathology were rare (0.12 %). The majority of ophthamic tumours with histological confirmation were melanomas (65.2 %) in old age and retinoblastomas (32.5 %) in the newborn and early infancy. Our result s are compared with those of other authors. Conclusion Great improveme nts in Medicine and diagnostic techniques have taken pierce, these las t decades, and with the possibilities of early diagnosis, enucleation has become rare as it is being replaced by conservative management.