A Note on the Treatment of the Sequelae of Perforated Corneal Ulcer

Abstract

Although uncommon in private and in­ stitutional practice in the U.S.A., the perforated corneal ulcer and its sequelae are deemed to be subjects of sufficient interest to warrant the publication of sev­ eral related experiences gained at the Peiping Union Medical College (or, in brief, the P.U.M.C). There is a great difference in the rela­ tive incidence of eye diseases between the material seen in the P.U.M.C. hospital and clinics and the material of, let us say, the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago. With regard to the latter place it is not far from Correct to say that one third of the time of the attending staff is taken up by refraction work, one third by work on cataract cases, and the remain­ ing one third by work on cases of various kinds. In Peking an altogether different situation prevails. Taking, as an example, the intraocular operations performed at the P.U.M.C. one finds that 29 percent are for the relief of senile and other forms of cataract, 28 percent for the treatment of secondary and IS percent for the treatment of primary glaucoma, whereas the remaining 28 percent repre­ sent optic iridectomies. In most of the operations for secondary glaucoma the latter is due to an anterior synechia which is the outcome of a perforated corneal ulcer. Since the optic iridectomies also concern themselves with the aftereffects of perforated corneal ulcers it may be said that two thirds of all intraocular oper­ ations are performed for the correction of