Indications for eye removal over a 13-year period at an ophthalmology referral center in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Purpose: To analyze the indications and types of eye removal at Latin America's highest-volume ophthalmic reference center in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of surgical pathological reports in the electronic database of the Ophthalmology Department of the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo Hospital of patients who underwent eye-removal procedures between January 2000 and December 2012. Results: A total of 412 cases met the inclusion criteria for this study. The most common indications for eye removal were ocular melanoma and retinoblastoma, representing 35.4% and 31.1% of the total cases, respectively. Other frequent indications included endophthalmitis (6.3%), nonspecific inflammation (4.1%), squamous cell carcinoma (3.6%), panophthalmitis (3.4%), and phthisis bulbi (1.2%). The remaining indications accounted for 14.8% of all cases, with each accounting for <1% of the total cases. Enucleation was the most common eye-removal procedure seen in our study. Conclusions: The two most common indications for eye removal were ocular melanoma and retinoblastoma. Alternative treatment options are effective in limiting the need for eye removal but are constrained by our public center's socioeconomic context.