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

Abstract

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.