Recurrent corneal erosions related to an ocular injury 15 years before presentation

PURPOSE: To report the case of a patient who presented with recurrent corneal erosions caused by an undetected plastic foreign body in the upper eyelid, which had remained asymptomatic for nearly 15 years following an ocular injury. OBSERVATIONS: A 39-year-old patient presented with recurrent corneal erosions and frontal headaches of unknown aetiology over the preceding eight months. The patient had previously been seen by twelve different ophthalmologists and had been treated over a 6-month period with a bandage contact lens, and therapeutic corneal scraping had been performed twice. However, the corneal erosion had repeatedly reappeared after removal of the bandage contact lens. On clinical examination prior to a planned phototherapeutic keratectomy, we extracted a 1.5 cm plastic foreign body, localised in the subtarsal area of the upper conjunctival fornix. Upon specific questioning, the patient denied any recent trauma, but reported a work-related accident with an accompanying eye injury 15 years before presentation. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: Posttraumatic foreign bodies in the eye may remain asymptomatic for prolonged periods before giving rise to clinical signs such as recurrent corneal erosions. Hence, a thorough clinical examination with meticulous eyelid eversion should always be performed in such patients.