The localization of a conjunctivoscleral foreign body via high‐resolution microscopy coil magnetic resonance imaging in a dog

• Published in: Veterinary ophthalmology 2019-09, Vol.22 (5), p.703-709
• Main Authors: Lavaud, Arnold, Lautenschläger, Ines E., Voelter, Katrin, Ivan, Daniel, Dennler, Matthias, Pot, Simon A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Conjunctiva - diagnostic imaging; Conjunctiva - surgery; diagnostic imaging; dog; Dog Diseases - pathology; Dog Diseases - surgery; Dogs; eye; Female; Foreign Bodies - diagnostic imaging; Foreign Bodies - surgery; Foreign Bodies - veterinary; grass awn; high‐resolution MRI; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - veterinary; Sclera - diagnostic imaging; Sclera - surgery; small surface coil
• ISSN: 1463-5216; 1463-5224
• DOI: 10.1111/vop.12671

A 3‐year‐old French bulldog was presented to the ophthalmology service of the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich with a 3‐day history of conjunctival swelling of the left eye (OS). Ophthalmologic examination revealed a moderate conjunctival hyperemia and chemosis. A migrating foreign body having entered the conjunctival fornix behind the nictitating membrane was suspected. Within the first 24 hours of medical management, OS developed a panuveitis and a scleral perforation was highly suspected. Ocular and orbital ultrasound as well as conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations failed to confirm the presence of a perforating foreign body. A High‐Resolution MRI (HR‐MRI) using a microscopy coil was then performed with findings consistent with a perforating and migrating foreign body. A grass awn of 12 mm length was surgically retrieved “ab externo” from its’ point of entry into the sclera. To the best of our knowledge, HR‐MRI has not yet been used to examine canine eyes. This case report supports the idea that orbital imaging can be greatly enhanced with the introduction of HR‐MRI using microscopy coils with clinically relevant implications.