Evisceration is the procedure performed in cases of irreparable eye injuries, or in cases of painful blind eyes with no possibility of visual recovery, in which the eye is emptied and filled with an intraorbital prosthesis. This sphere-shaped intraorbital prosthesis is placed inside the orbit, covered by the normal covering of the eye and restores the volume lost due to the missing eye. On the outside, an external prosthesis is placed, which is customised and painted with the colour and features of the other eye, so that it looks aesthetically like a normal eye.
It is a surgery that replaces a blind, painful and aesthetically unfavourable eye with a cavity with a prosthesis that is still blind, but painless and aesthetically unnoticeable in many cases.
The surgery can be performed under local anaesthesia on an outpatient basis, without the need for hospitalisation. The postoperative period is uncomfortable during the first week due to inflammation, and generally a provisional prosthesis can be fitted after 2-3 weeks. The definitive (personalised) prosthesis is usually fitted one month after surgery.
Enucleation is like evisceration, but instead of emptying the eye, the entire eye is removed. It is generally reserved for cases of intraocular tumours in which evisceration is contraindicated.
