Published January 15, 2015

Foreign Body Removal in 12 Steps

Was it a touchdown, or did his knee drop just before the goal line?
The championship game is on and before the review team in the
box can make the call, your phone rings. “Doc, hate to bother you
during the big game, but I just can’t take it any longer. I was
working under my car yesterday, and I thought it would get better,
but…” and the rest is history.
Removing corneal foreign bodies can be one of the most
rewarding aspects of the profession. They can interrupt a full
day—or the season’s championship game. But when handled
professionally and efficiently, this procedure not only preserves
sight but also generates loyal and referring patients.
This article is the first in a new six-part series that will show you,
step-by-step, the essential procedures you can do at the slit lamp.
Plus, you’ll find a short but thorough video on the Review website
to walk you through each procedure.
 The patient in this case was
grinding metal without
protective eyewear.
1. Spread the Word 
 The first step in removing corneal foreign
bodies is having patients. Despite optometrists’ advances in scope
of practice and adopting the medical model, many patients still
think of the ER or their primary care provider when their eyes hurt
and they suspect they have something in their eyes.
Do you take every opportunity to remind your patients that you and
your fellow optometrists remove all kinds of objects from the eye
on a daily basis? A simple technique that we’ve found to be very
effective is to hand the patient your card, and then write your cell
phone or after-hours service number on it, and let them know that
they will receive specialized care—and save time and money—
when they call your office for an eye emergency. A win-win
situation.
Another idea: Can a patient visit your website or your Facebook
page and watch a video of you removing a corneal foreign body
and hear your soothing voice? We made a video. So can you.
(See ours on www.reviewofoptometry.com.)
2. Set Up Phone Triage 
 The second step is to educate your
staff so they are prepared to deal with the patient with a presumed
foreign body. It starts at the front desk. Train your welcome leader
to recognize the signs of a corneal foreign body over the phone
and understand the importance of instructing the patient to come
directly to the office.
We keep it simple and emphasize the three calling cards of
corneal problems: pain, photophobia and lacrimation. (Or, in the
patient’s words, “It hurts and waters, especially in the sun.”)
3. Take a Careful History 
 Before you pick up that spud and spin
that Alger brush, first take a thorough history to prepare for the
procedure. Like a good investigator, ask the important questions:
what, when, where and how? In the vast majority of cases, the
story is generally explained very quickly.
After taking a good history, recording visual acuity
and anesthetizing the eye, it’s time to choose your
weapon. A magnetic spud or 25-gauge needle works
well to dislodge and remove most superficial
metallic foreign bodies without much damage to the
surrounding tissue. Always approach the foreign
body tangentially to avoid perforating the cornea.
• What? If the entering substance was associated with vegetative
matter or a rusty nail, the answer to this question will influence the
type of treatment that may be required postoperatively.
• When? This question lends itself to the type of education that
you’ll need to provide after removal, as well as being aware if the
odds of infection, inflammation and rust have dramatically
increased with time. Approximately four to six hours is all the time
required for the fluid of the cornea to begin to decompose the iron
foreign body and rust begins to leach into the surrounding tissue.
• Where? Although “where?” does not seem as clinically relevant
as “what?” and “when?,” it could be one of the most sought-after
notations in your record to evaluate worker’s compensation issues,
which insurance company will be liable, and other safety issues.
Be sure to note in the record if the patient had safety eyewear on.
This could be important to a company policy or, if a personal
incident, it opens the door to educate and sell safety glasses to
your patient. A pair of safety glasses can seem like a trivial
expense in light of the pain, missed work and monetary cost of
removing a corneal foreign body.
• How? Asking how the injury happened will assist you in
determining the force with which the foreign body entered the
cornea and whether or not other scans will become necessary to
rule out an intraocular foreign body. It is also important to inquire
as to when the patient had their last tetanus shot.
4. Determine Entering Visual Acuities 
 After the history, be
sure that you or your staff have recorded best-corrected vision
before you begin the procedure. For clinical as well as medicolegal
reasons, it is extremely important to know the patient’s best-
corrected vision before you start. Explaining amblyopia or prior
scarring on the witness stand is very difficult if your records don’t
indicate prior decreased vision, and you find yourself defending
20/decreased vision after you have removed the foreign body.
5. Anesthetize the Eye 
 The use of proparacaine prior to the
initial evaluation will make your patient more comfortable during
the process and enhance the efficiency as well. Instill proparcaine
in both eyes to reduce the sensitivity of each eye and assist in
preventing reflex movement. If the initial VA was in question due to
pain, now’s the time to repeat the VA of the involved eye.
Proparacaine is typically the anesthetic of choice but other topical
anesthetics, such as tetracaine, also provide the necessary
anesthetic effect.
After the metal particle is
removed, re-examine the area. If
the metal has been lodged for a
few hours or more, a pocket of
rust will likely remain.
 Rust never sleeps, so it must be
excavated. Here, we used an
Alger brush. Be sure to hold the
instrument at an angle, not
perpendicularly, to avoid
penetration.
6. Choose the Right Instrument 
 The initial step at the slit lamp
is to get the lay of the land. Remember that it is certainly possible
to have multiple foreign bodies or one in the fellow eye that the
patient may be unaware of. The adage, “If it isn’t written down, it
isn’t done” applies as with any medical investigation. So, make
certain you document the depth of the foreign body, the type of
foreign body, the condition of the fellow eye as well as any
additional pertinent information.
Be sure to accurately assess the depth of the foreign body,
keeping in mind that objects that have penetrated into the stroma
are more likely to result in scarring. Also note the proximity to the
visual axis.
After the initial survey and assessment of the foreign body, it’s time
to choose your weapon. As you look over your choices, take this
moment to communicate with your patient about the procedure
and possible complications. If you’re concerned about central
scarring and potential vision loss, discuss this with the patient
before the procedure. If you anticipate needing the Alger brush,
explain the process to the patient and give them the opportunity to
hear the sound of the motor and be reassured this will be done
under anesthetic.
Pause a moment to give the patient a chance to ask questions and
assess anxiety before proceeding.
The instrument you choose will be determined by the task at hand
as well as personal preference. If the identified foreign body is
metallic, consider using a magnetic spud. The advantage of the
magnetic spud is that you can sometimes lift out a very superficial
metallic foreign body with minimal tissue damage. The spud is also
readily available to you for additional depth and scraping if you
should need it. The other advantage of the magnetic spud is that
you’ll be able to catch the flakes of the metallic material with a
swipe around the area, and leave the wound field clean of debris
with minimal effort.
In many cases, the best instrument is a needle. A 25-gauge 5/8”
needle gives adequate strength and is short enough to avoid
flexure. Typically, less surrounding tissue damage is caused when
using a needle than a spud. The blunt edge of the spud
dramatically reduces the risk of perforation, but in the hands of a
steady practitioner, the needle is often preferred.
In a minority of cases, jeweler’s forceps may be the best choice. If
the foreign body is of vegetative matter, or simply adhered to the
cornea without true penetration, jeweler’s forceps is often the
instrument of choice so that no additional tissue is damaged and
the material simply lifts off the cornea.
7. Take a Tangential Approach 
 Always approach the foreign
body tangentially to avoid corneal perforation. Giving the patient a
target to focus on will slow down eye motion and decrease patient
anxiety. Entering at the temporal peripheral edge of the foreign
body, with a depth just slightly deeper than the foreign body,
generally results in removing the offending agent with minimal
collateral damage. A subtle flicking motion usually completes the
procedure.
8. Remove the Rust Ring 
 After removal of a metallic foreign
body, re-evaluate the excavation area for the presence of rust. If
metal is lodged in the cornea for more than four to six hours, rust
will begin to form in the adjacent tissue. This is typically seen as a
brownish-orange ring that appears to feather into the surrounding
tissue. A dense brown patch is also typically noted in the bottom of
the excavated area. Although the rust ring can occasionally be
lifted in its entirety with a jeweler’s forceps, an Alger brush will be
required in the vast majority of cases to free the area of rust. Be
sure to use a clean, sterilized tip for each case.
The Alger brush should be brought toward the area tangentially.
Although the stroma is difficult to penetrate with an Alger brush, it’s
still prudent to work tangentially and not perpendicularly. It’s also
easier to control the Alger brush depth from this angle.
Don’t be afraid to apply
pressure to get the rust out.
And take a few passes at it.
In between, give the patient
the opportunity to blink.
Even so, a trace of rust may
remain, as seen here.
To get out the last of that
deep, stubborn rust, try
holding the Alger brush in
your other hand. This
automatically reverses the
direction of burr’s rotation
within the wound to scour it
well.
In some cases, slight pressure is required to adequately remove
the rust. Although the rust may loosen with time and rise closer to
the surface, try to remove as much rust as possible at the initial
visit to prevent re-entry into the area, which will disturb epithelial
healing. A slight amount of rust left in the center of the excavated
pit will dissipate with time, and based on the clinician’s judgment,
it’s often less traumatic to leave a slight amount of rust as opposed
to excessive tissue disruption. Keep in mind that remaining rust will
create inflammation and retard healing, so do your best to leave
the wound as clean and rust free as possible.
If confidently ambidextrous, hold the burr in your opposite hand to
allow the spinning motion of the blade to approach the wound in
the opposite direction and loosen stubborn areas of rust.
After successfully burring the rust away, pass the magnet around
the area to remove any filings. Rinse the eye with saline to clean
the field as well.
9. Do a Double Check 
 After successful removal, be certain to
re-evaluate the area. Evaluate with white light, and also look for
any foreign matter that might have fallen into the lower palpebral
conjunctiva. Do a finalized inspection with sodium fluorescein and
cobalt blue filter to review and document the extent of the
evacuation and to be certain no foreign matter or additional foreign
bodies exist.
10. Rx Appropriately 
 Postoperatively, place the patient on a
broad-spectrum antibiotic for one week. (Keep in mind that diabetic
patients typically re-epithelize at a slower rate.) Pain management
depends on the extent of tissue damage and the depth of the
foreign body, as well as the level of inflammation and infection.
A bandage contact lens can also reduce discomfort. It creates an
artificial surface that provides protection from continual tearing of
the epithelium, promotes healing and decreases the risk of corneal
erosion. But use the bandage contact lens with caution. If placed
on the eye of a patient without contact lens experience, it might
inadvertently be dislodged or taco-rolled, leading to another phone
call from the patient concerned about the discomfort produced.
Also, a bandage contact lens may contribute to a more infective
climate, so monitor the patient closely. Be sure to remove the
contact lens in 24 hours to check the cornea for edema and striae
as well.
Standard of care dictates that corneal foreign body cases be seen
in 24 hours, but that certainly varies depending on the severity and
the depth of the foreign body.
Pressure patching is another method of controlling pain, but finds
less favor with patients who are still leading an active lifestyle, and
is often unnecessary.
In the case of non-central superficial foreign bodies, a topical
antibiotic is typically all that’s required. If excessive inflammation
has already occurred or the amount of burring required was
extensive, the use of homatropine BID for three days, in
conjunction with the topical antibiotic, often provides adequate pain
management and decreases the risk of iritis.
Topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents can also assist in
pain management without jeopardizing epithelial healing. Steroids,
even in the presence of iritis or ensuing iritis, are relatively
contraindicated until re-epithialization has been noted.
 After successful
removal of the foreign
body and residual rust,
do a final inspection
with white light. Rinse
the eye with saline and
use a magnet or swab
to remove any metal
filings or debris,
particularly in the lower
palpebral conjunctiva.
Lastly, stain the eye,
then measure and
document the lesion.
Schedule the patient for
a one-day follow up,
and prescribe a broad-
spectrum antibiotic.
In the case of central foreign bodies, its depth determines the level
of medication. Superficial corneal foreign bodies—regardless of
their location—will not scar. But if the foreign body is centrally
located and has penetrated into the stromal layer, scarring will
result. So, consider steroids to help reduce the scarring and risk
for potential vision loss. The dosage and duration of the steroid
varies depending on the depth of the foreign body, the amount of
inflammation and the risk of scarring, but the most common
dosage is QID for seven to 10 days, followed by a short taper. Be
aggressive and use a strong steroid, such as prednisolone
acetate, difluprednate or loteprednol 0.5%.
An amniotic membrane, such as the Prokera Slim device (Bio-
Tissue), may also be appropriate for those central, deep foreign
bodies where the risk of scarring is great.
11. Revisit on Day One 
 Significant healing should be noted
within 24 hours. The most common concerns at postoperative
visits are infection, iritis and recurrent corneal erosion.
12. Bill Properly 
 No job is complete until the paperwork is done.
The code commonly used is 65222 (Corneal foreign body removal
with slit lamp). Be certain to use modifiers to indicate if more than
one foreign body was removed. This code does not have a global
post-op period, so it is appropriate to bill an E/M code for follow-up
visits.
Corneal foreign bodies can represent a scary, vision-threatening
situation to the patient. With the proper patient education, foreign
body removal technique and treatment, you will have the metal
and rust out of the cornea efficiently and effectively. Your patient
will leave feeling significantly better and you will have gained a
patient to your practice.
Assuming the phone call came at half time, you can be back for
the exciting second half and you’ll enjoy it knowing you’ve done an
outstanding service for your patient, and your patient will enjoy the
second half reassured they are in good hands and made the right
call.
Dr. Shetler is an assistant professor and chief of the university
clinic facilities at the Oklahoma College of Optometry.
Dr. Lighthizer is the assistant dean for clinical care services,
director of continuing education, and chief of both the specialty
care clinic and the electrodiagnostics clinic at the Oklahoma
College of Optometry.