Penetrating eye injury in war

The percentage of penetrating eye injuries in war has increased significant ly in this century compared with the total number of combat injuries. With the increasing use of fragmentation weapons and possibly laser weapons on t he battlefield in the future, the rate of eye injuries may exceed the 13% o f the total military injuries found in Operations Desert Storm/Shield. Duri ng the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), eye injuries revealed that retained forei gn bodies and posterior segment injuries have an improved prognosis in futu re military ophthalmic surgery as a result of modern diagnostic and treatme nt modalities, Compared with the increasing penetrating eye injuries on the battlefield, advances in ophthalmic surgery are insignificant; Eye armor, such as visors that flip up and down and protect the eyes from laser injury , needs to be developed. Similar eye protection is being developed in civil ian sportswear. Penetrating eye injury in the civilian sector is becoming m uch closer to the military model and is now comparable for several reasons.