A man in his 50s from Kaohsiung got hit in the right eye several days ago during a badminton game while attempting a smash stroke on the shuttlecock. His eye was so painful he could not open it, and when he went to the hospital to get it checked out, he discovered that there was bleeding in the vitreous humor of the eye, which had sustained a traumatic cataract, reducing his vision to only 0.01. He could only make out the vague impression of fingers being waved in front of his eye, and it was only after emergency vitreomacular micro-incision and laser-assisted cataract surgery that the vision showed some improvement. A doctor advised members of the public to wear eye protection glasses when playing badminton.
According to Wu Pei-chang, a retina specialist in the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Ophthalmology Department, badminton should be categorized as a dangerous ball game, not only because of the speed at which the shuttlecock flies but also because it is fitted with a hard object on one end. Wu says that many people have come to the emergency room after being hit in the eye with a shuttlecock, causing internal bleeding in the eyeball, retinal tears or a detached retina.
Wu says that an ophthalmoscopic examination and ultrasound scan showed that, fortunately, the patient had not detached his retina, but as bleeding in the retinal blood vessels had got into the vitreous humor, his vision had been affected. On top of this, the patient had a pre-existing cataract problem that was exacerbated by the impact of the shuttlecock. For his vision to be restored as quickly as possible, he had to have two operations, a vitreomacular micro-incision together with laser-assisted cataract surgery.
Photo: Fang Chih-hsien, Liberty Times 照片:自由時報記者方志賢
Wu said that people playing ball sports should be careful, and that ball games such as badminton and golf, as the objects being hit are so small, carry with them a high risk of the eyes being struck, leading to serious damage. In addition to wearing eye protection glasses, should the eyes sustain contact, the person should go and seek medical attention immediately, even if there aren’t any apparent symptoms. Otherwise they might delay treatment until it is too late.
(Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
高雄市一名五十多歲男性,日前打羽球時不慎遭「殺球」擊中右眼,痛得睜不開眼睛。就醫檢查發現,右眼玻璃體出血及外傷性白內障,視力僅存○.○一,隱約僅能看見眼前手指晃動。緊急接受微創玻璃體切除及雷射白內障手術後,視力才獲改善,醫師也建議民眾,打羽球要戴護目鏡。
照片:醫師吳佩昌提供 Photo courtesy of Ophthalmologist Wu Pei-chang
高雄長庚醫院眼科部視網膜科教授吳佩昌表示,打羽球是危險球類運動之一,不僅因打羽球速度很快,而且前部是硬物,過去急診室曾見過被羽球打中眼睛,造成水晶體破裂出血、視網膜裂孔、剝離。
吳佩昌說,患者經眼底照相檢查及超音波掃描,所幸沒有視網膜剝離,但因視網膜血管出血,流入玻璃體,影響視力。另外患者原本也有白內障問題,遭羽球撞擊加速惡化,為能盡早恢復視力,同時接受玻璃體切除及雷射白內障兩項手術。
吳佩昌提醒,民眾進行球類運動時要留意,羽球、高爾夫球等球類運動,因為球體面積小,擊中眼部機率大,導致嚴重傷害,運動時戴護目鏡外,若不慎遭受撞擊後,即使沒有明顯症狀也應儘快就醫,才不會延誤黃金治療時機。
(自由時報)
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