Traumatic eye injuries vary greatly — from the presence of small and easily removable metallic foreign objects in the eye structures to extensive injuries associated with car accidents and chemical burns to the eyes.
Ophthalmologists and eye surgeons at the Top Ihilov Medical Center successfully treat such injuries, even the most severe cases, doing everything possible to preserve the patient's eye and correct the visual impairments resulting from the trauma.
Classification of Eye Injuries
• Non-penetrating trauma — the eyeball is not damaged, but there are other symptoms of tissue injury.
• Penetrating wound — the integrity of the eyeball is compromised, there is a wound from which the contents of the inner core of the eye may leak. The outer membranes of the eye core are injured, and the wound may extend to the cornea and sclera.
• Perforating wound — the wound extends through the entire eyeball, with entrance and exit wound openings. This type of eye injury is the most severe.
• Orbital injury — blunt trauma resulting in a fracture of the wall or edges of the orbit due to strong pressure on the orbital structures.
• Injury to the eye muscles — in some cases, a fracture of the bones of the eye socket can lead to the loss of the eye muscles' ability to contract, resulting in a persistent fixation of the gaze in one direction.
Treatment of Eye Injuries
First aid for victims with traumatic eye injuries may consist of rinsing the eye and applying a bandage. Thanks to timely surgical intervention, specialists at our clinic manage to prevent complications and preserve the eye, and in some cases, delayed surgical treatment may be performed due to the late arrival of patients.
The main principles of surgical treatment of the eye are to preserve its tissues as completely as possible, including those that have fallen out, with subsequent repositioning, ensuring the sealing of the wound surface, reconstructing damaged structures, and ensuring the transparency of the optical media of the eye.
Surgical treatment of traumatic eye injuries is diverse in form and depends on the type and severity of the injury; it may include the following stages:
• plastic surgery and repositioning of the iris;
• washing out of hyphema;
• removal of the lens and lens masses;
• removal of the vitreous body;
• localization and removal of foreign objects from the eyeball;
• cleaning and repositioning of damaged membranes into the eye cavity;
• suturing the wound and applying various stitches — scleral, etc.
In cases of severe eye contusions, doctors at the Top Ihilov center determine the viability of the iris, remove its non-viable fragments, repair its ruptures, remove cataracts or fallen vitreous bodies resulting from the trauma. It is also often necessary to repair ruptures of the sclera, conjunctiva, restore intraocular pressure using isotonic solutions, and perform other surgical interventions.
Another type of traumatic eye injury is chemical burns caused by exposure to alkalis, acids, and other aggressive substances. Moderate burns are accompanied by conjunctivitis, while more severe burns can lead to corneal opacity. The primary task in such cases is to thoroughly rinse the eye of remaining chemical agents. Surgical treatment of the eye that has suffered chemical burns in our clinic may involve the removal of affected areas of the conjunctiva and necrotic tissues of the eye, keratoplasty, and conjunctival plastic surgery.
One of the most vivid testimonies to the effectiveness of treating traumatic eye injuries in Israel is the feedback from patients at the Top Ihilov clinic, filled with words of gratitude towards our doctors, as thanks to their high skill, many people with severe eye injuries have been able to preserve their vision.
Diagnosis of Eye Injuries
The examination of people with traumatic eye injuries at the Top Ihilov Medical Center takes about three days and may include various types of ophthalmological diagnostics.
First Day — Consultation with an Ophthalmologist
After meeting at the airport with a coordinator-translator, the patient, accompanied by them, goes to the Top Ihilov Medical Center, where they have their first consultation with a leading ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist examines the injured eye and plans the diagnostic procedures for the second day (in emergency cases, the diagnostic program may be significantly shortened, and all necessary treatment procedures may be performed on the same day).
Second Day — Comprehensive Diagnostics
The main task of diagnosing eye injuries is to assess the severity of the injury. A series of tests is usually conducted to investigate the functionality of the visual organ, the presence of wounds, defects, and anomalies. The examination is performed under local anesthesia using medications that are best tolerated in the presence of eye injuries (causing minimal burning when instilled into the injured eye).
The doctor examines the condition of the eyeball and orbit, identifies the presence of wounds, hyphema, uveal prolapse, penetrating wounds of the cornea, etc.
For a more detailed investigation of visual disturbances, high-precision equipment may be used:
- optical coherence tomography;
- non-contact optical biometers;
- digital slit lamps;
- fundus cameras and other equipment.
Third Day — Selection of Treatment Procedures
On this day, the leading ophthalmologist and a commission consisting of other specialists from the ophthalmology department of the clinic select the most promising treatment program and plan its stages.
Cost of Treatment for Traumatic Eye Injuries in Israel
Treatment of traumatic eye injuries in Israel varies significantly in price, as each specific case of injury is different. Significant and multiple injuries with deep penetration into the eye tissues, fractures of the bones of the eye socket may require several sequential operations (including reconstructive plastic surgery) and substantial financial costs. Less extensive surgical interventions are less expensive.
In any case, the prices for treating eye injuries, including surgical operations on the eyes, in Israeli clinics are quite low — they are 30-50% lower than in ophthalmological centers in Europe and the United States.
Advantages of Treating Eye Injuries at the Top Ihilov Center
Treatment of traumatic eye injuries in Israel, according to patient reviews, is characterized by high effectiveness and promptness. In addition, treatment at the Top Ihilov clinic has many other advantages.
- The specialists of the ophthalmology department at our medical center are experienced professionals, each with years of clinical practice and numerous surgeries for the surgical treatment of various types of eye injuries.
- The main goal pursued by our ophthalmologists and eye surgeons is to preserve all structures of the eye and its visual function as completely as possible, so all treatment procedures are carried out as quickly as possible, in strict accordance with the recommendations of leading specialists in this field.
- The examination of injured visual organs, identification of visual disturbances, surgical treatment, and monitoring the dynamics of recovery of eye structures at Top Ihilov are carried out using modern equipment supplied by leading global manufacturers of medical technology.
- To ensure that the patient feels comfortable, cozy, and does not experience any everyday problems during the treatment period, trained medical staff and a personal coordinator-translator oversee their care.