Scleral Buckle Infection with Aspergillus Flavus

PURPOSE: To present a case of scleral buckle infection with Aspergillus flavus in a tertiary eye center in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A retrospective case report of a 28-year-old Saudi male who presented with a six-month history of conjunctival injection and discharge from the left eye which had undergone uncomplicated conventional retinal detachment surgery, at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the form of cryopexy, subretinal fluid drainage and scleral buckle (grooved segmental sponge and circumferential band with sleeve) for a macula on retinal detachment four years earlier. A diagnosis of infected extruded scleral buckle was made and the buckle was removed. RESULTS: The infected scleral buckle was removed under local anesthesia with administration of sub-conjunctival irrigation of 50 mg solution of Vancomycin, and sub-conjunctival injection of 25mg of Vancomycin. Post operative microbiological studies revealed infection with silver staining of moderate Aspergillus flavus hyphae. Visual acuity of the left eye improved from 20/200 before surgery to 20/60 in the two years follow-up visit. CONCLUSION: This case report indicates the importance of considering infection with multiple organisms – including fungal ones – in cases of scleral buckle infections in our population.