Hyphema

Abstract

Post-traumatic accumulation of blood in the anterior chamber is a common challenge encountered by the general practitioners and ophthalmologists. Even a small hyphema can be a sign of major intraocular trauma with associated damage of vascular and other intraocular tissues. Blunt trauma may result in injury of the iris, papillary sphincter, angle structures, lens, zonules, retina, vitreous body, optic nerve and other intraocular structures. Hyphema may also occur intraoperatively or postoperatively. The lack of an ideal therapeutic program, the potential for a relapsing hemorrhage and a secondary increase of the intraocular pressure may turn an eye with an initially favourable visual prognosis into a complex therapeutic problem with a poor outcome.