Swallowed ocular prostheses: report of three cases in children with retinoblastoma.
OBJECTIVE
To report 3 instances of 2 children who swallowed their ocular prostheses.


METHODS
A 30-month-old boy whose eye had been enucleated for retinoblastoma swallowed his ocular prosthesis on 2 different occasions, and a 32-month-old boy whose eye had also been enucleated for retinoblastoma swallowed his ocular prosthesis once.


RESULTS
In the second child, an abdominal radiograph was obtained, but the swallowed prosthesis was not apparent, and radiographic imaging of the recovered prosthesis failed to demonstrate an identifiable object. In each case, the prosthesis was recovered in the child's stool without incident several weeks later. Neither child had physical complications as a result of the swallowing events.


CONCLUSIONS
We report 3 instances in which a child fitted for an ocular prosthesis after enucleation swallowed his prosthesis and had no untoward effects. The failure of imaging to detect the prostheses in the second child is attributed to the radiolucent nature of materials used in the manufacture of the prosthesis. Each of the children was having life stresses in addition to his medical treatment that may have accounted for his behavior.
Moshfeghi
Darius M
DM
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, USA.
Wilson
Matthew W
MW
Martin
Terry L
TL
Haik
Barrett G
BG
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003672:Defecation; D003679:Deglutition; D004064:Digestive System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017886:Durapatite; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005137:Eye, Artificial; D005243:Feces; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020273:Orbital Implants; D020959:Polyethylene; D011859:Radiography; D019572:Retinal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D012175:Retinoblastoma / Q000601:surgery*
D020959:Polyethylene; D017886:Durapatite