title: A case of acute retinal toxicity caused by an intraocular foreign body composed of cobalt alloy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We describe a case of acute retinal toxicity caused by an intraocular foreign body composed of a cobalt alloy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 36-year-old man presented to an outside clinic with a traumatic cataract and corneal laceration of his left eye, which had occurred while grinding a shelf. The lacerated cornea was closed primarily and the traumatic cataract was phacoemulsified. He was transferred to our hospital due to identification of a metallic intraocular foreign body in the vitreous. On arrival at our institution, the intraocular foreign body was removed as soon as possible after vitrectomy. On the first postoperative day, vasculitis and serous retinal detachment were observed on the retina at the previous site of the foreign body. Two months after surgery, atrophy of nearly half of the inferior retina was noted on funduscopy, and visual acuity was such that the patient could only count fingers at 30 cm. Analysis of the foreign body revealed that it was composed of 84.99% tungsten carbide, 15% cobalt and had traces of titanium and alumina.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cobalt containing metallic foreign bodies should be immediately removed, as they have the potential to cause permanent visual disturbance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Kosin University , Busan , South Korea .
authors.forename: Jung Youb
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Seung Uk
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ki Yup
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Tae Won
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000497:Alloys / Q000633:toxicity*; D001284:Atrophy / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D003035:Cobalt / Q000633:toxicity*; D005129:Eye Foreign Bodies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D003035:Cobalt
keywords: Cobalt; penetrating injury; retina; trauma