Sir,

Retractable dog leashes are commonly used around the world. We report a case of ocular trauma secondary to one such leash.

Case report

A 56-year-old woman was walking her greyhound restrained by a retractable dog leash at full length. The dog's attention was attracted by cars on a nearby road and he pulled forcefully at the leash. This caused a ring on the dog collar (attaching the leash to the collar via a metallic clip) to break, resulting in a recoil of the clip into the left eye with significant blunt trauma. Visual acuity at presentation was 6/60 in the left eye. Examination showed left phacodonesis, zonular rupture, vitreous prolapse into the anterior chamber, traumatic iridial dialysis, and cataract. Fundoscopy and optical coherence tomography revealed a full-thickness macular hole without vitreous separation (Figures 1 and 2). This required a phacolensectomy, vitrectomy, internal limiting membrane peel, and posterior chamber gas (C2F6) to treat. A secondary anterior chamber implant will be inserted in the future.

Figure 1
figure 1

Left ‘red free’ fundal photograph demonstrating the circular outline of a full-thickness macular hole (arrow).

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Figure 2
figure 2

(a) Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the right eye showing the normal foveal contour (arrow). (b) OCT of the left eye showing the full-thickness macular hole (arrow).

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Comment

Ocular injuries secondary to usage of elasticated cords have been previously reported with good public awareness.1, 2, 3 Although retractable dog leashes are widely used because of their convenience, awareness about their ocular hazards remains low. Recently a US manufacturer had to withdraw its retractable dog leashes after a recoil injury caused partial blindness in a 13-year-old girl.4 Subsequently manufacturers have advised securing the dog leash with a secondary security collar.5 Although this may appear to be an inconvenient second step, the benefits far outweigh the risk of permanent sight loss. It is also important to choose a type of leash that is adjusted to the size, weight, and force of the animal. When using leashes without the secondary security collar, eye protection is strongly recommended.