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Prehospital Care of Combat Eye Injuries

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Ophthalmology in Military and Civilian Casualty Care

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Abstract

The eye is notoriously intolerant of injury—and error in treatment. Because of this, eye injuries must be evaluated and treated by ophthalmologists, who will probably be deployed as a scarce theater-level asset. Pre-ophthalmic treatment—that is, treatment by combat buddies, medics, and non-ophthalmic providers forward of the first ophthalmic facility—is therefore largely limited to mitigation of the injury. These first steps, however, are critically important in setting the foundation for subsequent repair and can make the difference in the eye’s eventual outcome, and whether the eye “arrives alive” to the ophthalmologist or is “KIA”. This chapter focuses on the prehospital/preophthalmic care that should be undertaken for most significant eye injury types.

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The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the US Government. This work was prepared as part of official duties as a US Government employee and is defined as US Government work under Title 17 USC§101. Per Title 17 USC§105 copyright protection is not available for any work of the US Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAPT (RET), MC, US Navy, Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Joint Trauma System, Pensacola, FL, USA

    Frank K. Butler

  2. COL (RET), MC, US Army, Education, Training, Simulation, and Readiness, DoD-VA Vision Center of Excellence, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Robert A. Mazzoli

  3. Uniformed Services University of the Health Services, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Robert A. Mazzoli

  4. Ophthalmic Plastic, Reconstructive, and Orbital Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA, USA

    Robert A. Mazzoli

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  1. Frank K. Butler
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Correspondence to Frank K. Butler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lieutenant Colonel, US Army Reserve San Antonio Military Medical Center, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Christopher J. Calvano

  2. Brigadier General, US Army Retired Children’s Hospital of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA

    Robert W. Enzenauer

  3. Colonel, US Army Retired Ophthalmology Service, JBSA Fort Sam, Houston, TX, USA

    Anthony J. Johnson

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Butler, F.K., Mazzoli, R.A. (2019). Prehospital Care of Combat Eye Injuries. In: Calvano, C., Enzenauer, R., Johnson, A. (eds) Ophthalmology in Military and Civilian Casualty Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14437-1_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14437-1_13

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