Phthisis bulbi is a shrunken, non-functional eye. It may result from severe

eye disease This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders. The World Health Organization publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ICD-10. ...

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...

, or it may represent a complication of eye surgery. Treatment options include insertion of a

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

, which may be preceded by

enucleation of the eye Enucleation is the removal of the eye that leaves the eye muscles and remaining orbital contents intact. This type of ocular surgery is indicated for a number of ocular tumors, in eyes that have sustained severe trauma, and in eyes that are other ...

Symptoms

The affected eye is shrunken, and has little to no vision. The intraocular pressure in the affected eye is very low or nonexistent. The layers in the eye may be fused together, thickened, or

edematous Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

. The eyelids may be glued shut. The eye may be soft when palpated. Under a microscope there may be deposits of calcium or bone, and the lens is often affected by

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

Causes

It can be caused by injury, including burns to the eye, or long-term eye disease or inflammation. End-stage glaucoma can cause it. It can often complicate eye surgery. Other common causes include cancer, retinal detachment, vascular lesions, infection, and inflammation.

Treatment

Treatment for the affected eye is often futile. Usually, treatment is to end the pain in the affected eye and for cosmetic purposes, not to restore vision. It can be removed, a procedure called enucleation of the eye. Sometimes, though, it is possible to transplant only parts of the eye, and some vision can be restored.

References

External links

Disorders of vitreous body and globe {{nervoussystem-disease-stub