Perforating globe injury after acupuncture treatment: two cases.

Abstract

Acupuncture has a long history of use in the treatment of various eye diseases, such as acquired paralytic strabismus, dry eye and optic atrophy, for which good results have been reported. However, there is an abundance of blood vessels in the eye, and needle penetration into the orbit may potentially puncture these blood vessels. Therefore, acupuncture treatment poses certain risks. Adverse events of acupuncture in ophthalmology have ranged from subcutaneous petechiae to ocular hematoma and even blindness. Ruolin et al.1 observed that the incidence of hematoma in suborbital acupuncture was 0.2%. Zhang and Zhang2 described two cases of anterior chamber hemorrhage and conjunctival hyperemia caused by acupuncture. Some researchers have mentioned puncture of the cornea or lens, resulting in traumatic cataract associated with acupuncture needles.3 Herein, we report two cases of perforating injury of the globe by acupuncture needles resulting in retinal injury.