Head rotation and the perception of eyelid height and contour.

PURPOSE: Effective visual perceptual processing is one of the many components of surgical competence. Human face identification is most efficient when viewed upright. However, it is not yet clear how this perception sensitivity impacts eyelid symmetry. This study investigates surgeons' and laypeople's accuracy and efficiency in perceiving eyelid asymmetry from different spatial perspectives. METHODS: A prospective psychometric experiment was conducted where oculoplastic surgeons were recruited from the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Brazilian Oculoplastic Surgery Society, and control participants were recruited via crowdsourcing (Amazon's Mechanical Turk). Standard illustrations of the human face with varying degrees of eyelid abnormality, laterality, gender and rotation were presented to participants who were asked to judge whether the eyelids were symmetric or asymmetric. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 75 oculoplastic surgeons (49.33% male; mean age of 46.9±10.7) and 192 lay individuals (54.6% male; mean age 34.6±11.3 years). Among oculoplastic surgeons, deviation from upright was significantly associated with increased reaction time and decreased proportion correct (OR per 45° for peak 0.68, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.77, p<0.001; OR per 45° for ptosis 0.52, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.87, p=0.012; OR per 180° for aggregate responses 0.56, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.61, p<0.001). Oculoplastic surgeons demonstrated increasing accuracy and decreasing reaction time with additional trials for both peak and ptosis. CONCLUSION: Oculoplastic surgeons perceive eyelid asymmetries more accurately and can better compensate for inverted sensory information. However, accuracy increases and reaction time decreases with additional trials, suggesting trainability and potential for improvement in inversion disability.

Clinical and demographic predictors of buccal fat pad volume in thyroid eye disease.

PURPOSE: To understand how thyroid eye disease (TED) impacts buccal fat pad (BFP) volume. METHODS: In this cohort study, computed tomography (CT) scans and charts of adult patients with and without TED were obtained from an institutional database. The primary outcome was BFP volume in cubic centimeters. Three independent, blinded observers analyzed scans using Horos, a free, open-source medical image viewing software. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed. We determined sample size using an effect size based on published reports of the minimum amount of fat excision needed to notice a clinical difference. Equivalence testing against upper and lower bounds set by the same effect size was conducted to assess practical significance of the results. RESULTS: Our sample was sufficient to detect a difference as large as 1.5cc with 95% power. 72 scans were included in our study, 24 TED patients and 48 controls. Mean BFP volume was not statistically different between TED patients and controls (3.96 cc vs 4.06 cc, p = .778). Analysis of covariance adjusting for relevant patient factors (age, sex, and BMI) also failed to find a significant difference between groups. Equivalence testing was significant (p < .001) and revealed the observed difference between groups was less than any clinically meaningful difference. For an effect size of 1.5cc, the data suggests there is a 5% risk of a false negative. CONCLUSIONS: TED was not associated with a significant difference in BFP volume, suggesting that the BFP is spared from TED-related soft-tissue expansion.

Lacrimal hyperalgesia: a case series of post-operative painful lacrimation.

Lacrimal hyperalgesia is a rare type of periorbital neuralgia triggered by tear production. Two female patients in their mid-forties underwent orbital surgery and, several weeks following their procedures, developed pain when they produced tears. The symptom was described as a sharp, debilitating, and transient periocular pain. A possible mechanism for this lacrimal hyperalgesia is through the formation of an artificial synapse along the superolateral aspect of the orbit. Two mechanisms for this type of hyperalgesia are described herein, which include potential mechanical compression or direct disruption of the normal nerve pathways and microvascular disruption causing ischemic nerve injury. Currently, there is no accepted treatment for this aberrant neuropathic pain caused by lacrimation. Gabapentin therapy was trialed in one of these two patients, who experienced partial improvement with nightly use. In this case series, we describe the clinical and radiographic features associated with this unique type of neuralgia, emphasizing the importance of recognizing it as a complication following orbital surgery.

Margin rotation for tarsal buckling following ptosis surgery.

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical characteristics of tarsal buckling after ptosis correction and its management with margin rotation techniques. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective review of ten patients who developed upper eyelid entropion following ptosis correction. In all cases the tarsal deformity was corrected with margin rotational procedures with either a lid crease anterior approach or a traditional posterior approach. Data collection included patient demographics, type of ptosis surgery, and photographic documentation of the affected eyelids. RESULTS: Entropion occurred after a variety of different ptosis surgery techniques, including frontalis sling, levator advancement and supramaximal levator resection. A horizontal tarsal fold was detected in all eyelids, being in the upper third of the tarsus in 70% and in the central tarsus in 20% of the cases. Tarsal buckling was corrected in all cases with rotational surgery, with nine cases being operated through an anterior lid crease approach and 1, through the traditional posterior approach. The most reported complication was minimal residual ptosis. CONCLUSION: Tarsal buckling following ptosis surgery is associated with folds located in the upper part of the tarsus. Margin rotation techniques are effective in restoring the natural position of the eyelid margin in these cases.

Outcomes of Patients With Thyroid Eye Disease Partially Treated With Teprotumumab.

PURPOSE: In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, teprotumumab production was temporarily halted with resources diverted toward vaccine production. Many patients who initiated treatment with teprotumumab for thyroid eye disease were forced to deviate from the standard protocol. This study investigates the response of teprotumumab when patients receive fewer than the standard 8-dose regimen. METHODS: This observational cross-sectional cohort study included patients from 15 institutions with active or minimal to no clinical activity thyroid eye disease treated with the standard teprotumumab infusion protocol. Patients were included if they had completed at least 1 teprotumumab infusion and had not yet completed all 8 planned infusions. Data were collected before teprotumumab initiation, within 3 weeks of last dose before interruption, and at the visit before teprotumumab reinitiation. The primary outcome measure was reduction in proptosis more than 2 mm. Secondary outcome measures included change in clinical activity score (CAS), extraocular motility restriction, margin reflex distance-1 (MRD1), and reported adverse events. RESULTS: The study included 74 patients. Mean age was 57.8 years, and 77% were female. There were 62 active and 12 minimal to no clinical activity patients. Patients completed an average of 4.2 teprotumumab infusions before interruption. A significant mean reduction in proptosis (-2.9 mm in active and -2.8 mm in minimal to no clinical activity patients, P < 0.01) was noted and maintained during interruption. For active patients, a 3.4-point reduction in CAS ( P < 0.01) and reduction in ocular motility restriction ( P < 0.01) were maintained during interruption. CONCLUSIONS: Patients partially treated with teprotumumab achieve significant reduction in proptosis, CAS, and extraocular muscle restriction and maintain these improvements through the period of interruption.

The Effect of Lighting and Photograph Exposure on Perceived Attractiveness.

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of various lighting conditions and photograph exposures on perceived attractiveness. METHODS: In the first experiment, 5 variably exposed photographs were taken of 10 subjects using a consistent lighting condition (45° superior box light). In the second experiment, 10 subjects were photographed under variable lighting conditions with consistent exposure: 1) 90° overhead box light, 2) ring light, 3) 45° superior box light, 4) built-in camera flash, 5) 2 straight on box lights, each 45° from midline, and 6) natural light. Participants were instructed to maintain a neutral expression, were placed in front of a standardized blue-gray background, and were photographed during a single session. Photographs were imported into an online survey platform (Qualtrics 2020) and displayed in random order. Volunteer survey respondents were instructed to rate the subject's attractiveness on a scale of 0 to 10. Between the two experiments, a total of 22,000 scored photographs were included in the analysis. Mixed ANOVA and pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni correction were used to compare between- and within-subject ratings. RESULTS: Lighting condition had a significant impact on perceived attractiveness ( p < 0.001), with the 90° overhead box light achieving lower scores and the 45° superior box light yielding greater scores of attractiveness relative to the other conditions. Photograph exposure did not have a significant impact on subjective attractiveness ( p = 1.000). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that perceived attractiveness is enhanced when a 45° superior box light is used for illumination, and attractiveness is reduced when 90° overhead exposure is utilized. Exposure did not play a prominent role in perceived attractiveness.

Upper Eyelid Contour Changes After Orbital Decompression in Graves Orbitopathy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of orbital decompression on the upper eyelid contour. METHODS: A paired cross-sectional analysis of the upper eyelid contour was performed for 103 eyes of 66 patients who underwent orbital decompression. A control group of 26 normal subjects was also included. The eyelid contour of all participants were measured with Bézier lines adjusted to the eyelid contour and 9 midpupil eyelid margin (MPD) distances from a horizontal line bisecting the pupil. One central, corresponding to the margin reflex distance (MRD 1), and 8 equally distributed medially and laterally at 20% of the interval between the lines. Patients were classified as with flare if the height of the most lateral MPD relative to the MRD 1 was above the upper limit of the controls. RESULTS: Preoperatively 63 of the 103 contours were classified as flare + (F+). After decompression MRD1 showed a mean decrease of 0.4 mm and the location of the contour shifted 0.8 mm medially. These changes were not correlated with proptosis reduction. Orbital decompression decreased the lateral curvature of the contours especially for the F+ lids. In 40% of the F+ eyelids the flare sign disappeared after decompression. CONCLUSIONS: Orbital decompression affects the lateral eyelid contour and diminishes the amount of lateral eyelid retraction surgery necessary to correct the flare sign. In 40% of the patients, the eyelid contour is normalized with proptosis reduction only.

Clinical Assessment and Lesion-Specific Management of Orbital Vascular Malformations.

The systematic classification of vascular disease as proposed and refined by the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) divides vascular pathology first into tumors and malformations. Malformations are described as simple and complex, where simple malformations contain a single vascular system and complex malformations comprised of multiple vascular systems. Arteriovenous malformations are considered in terms of inflow characteristics which are primarily responsible for the key management challenges. Management utilizing endovascular embolization and/or surgical resection is often employed; however, recurrence can occur, particularly in diffuse cases. There may be an increasing role for systemic antiangiogenic therapy in such cases. Lymphaticovenous malformations are divided into the principle components on the lymphatic and venous sides for clarity of discussion. Lymphatic malformations are described morphologically as macrocystic and microcystic, and physiologically in terms of the processes responsible for growth. In both cases, surgical options are challenging and local therapeutics intended to close large luminal spaces in the case of macrocystic and to slow biological signaling for growth in microcystic. Venous malformations are described physiologically in terms of flow and distensibility, as volume plays a critical role in the limited space of the orbital cavity. Combined embolic-surgical approaches can be effective for management. More complicated, combined lesions can be managed by dividing the lesion into principal components and treating each appropriately.

Early Experience With the Clinical Use of Teprotumumab in a Heterogenous Thyroid Eye Disease Population.

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical course in a heterogeneous series of subjects with thyroid eye disease (TED) treated with teprotumumab. METHODS: Cross-sectional cohort study including patients with clinical diagnosis of TED who was treated with teprotumumab. The entire cohort was analyzed together and subsequently in clinical subgroups based on stage and grade of disease. Primary outcome measure was change in proptosis ≥2 mm. Secondary outcome measures included change in clinical activity score (CAS), ductions, strabismic deviation, MRD1, and MRD2. Bivariate and multivariate statistics were performed. RESULTS: The study included 21 patients. Mean ± SD age was 61.5 ± 12.6 years and 71.4% were female. Reduction in proptosis ≥2 mm was achieved in 71.4% of the sample. Stage and grade were not significant predictors of outcome. Treatment with teprotumumab resulted in a 2.5 ± 1.8 mm reduction of proptosis (P < 0.001), 2.2 ± 1.4 reduction in CAS (P < 0.001), and 16.9 ± 19.3 degree improvement in extraocular motility (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences for change in CAS, proptosis, ductions, or MRD2 between different grades and stages of disease. Total strabismus and MRD1 improvement were greater in the active stage of disease (P < 0.05). Three cases of dysthyroid optic neuropathy, refractory to methylprednisolone therapy improved after initiation of teprotumumab. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of TED with teprotumumab in a heterogeneous patient population is associated with improvement in proptosis, extraocular motility, and CAS. Patients beyond those defined in the clinical trials, including those affected by stable stage, milder grade, and vision-threatening TED may benefit from this therapy. There are, however, limits on the overall efficacy of this medication in the management of certain physical characteristics in TED including eyelid position and strabismus.

Lid Flare Measurement with Lateral Midpupil Distances.

PURPOSE: To assess the sensitivity and specificity of lateral midpupil lid distances for the detection of upper lid lateral flare. METHODS: Lateral lid flare was determined by unanimous agreement among six experienced oculoplastic surgeons in the grading of photographs obtained for patients with Graves orbitopathy (GO). Bézier lines were employed to extract the upper eyelid contours of the patients and a control group of age and sex matched subjects. Custom software was employed to determine 5 lateral midpupil eyelid distances. The sensitivity and specificity of each measurement in detecting lateral flare were estimated from receiver operating characteristic curves. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Dunn's posthoc test was used to compare the median values of the contour parameters between groups. RESULTS: The degree of agreement between judges evaluated with the Fleiss' Kappa test was relatively high (K = 0.69, z = 16.6, p < .0001). The raters classified 12 lids with lateral lid flare (LLF) and 7 without LLF in patients with GO. There was no agreement on the presence or absence of LLF in 11 lids. In all eyes, lateral midpupil lid distances diminished from the center of the eyelid towards the lateral canthus. Receiver operating characteristic analysis for the midpupil distances revealed that the fourth distance from the center demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in detecting flare. At this location (2.5 mm medial to the lateral canthus) a midpupil distance equal to or greater than 60% of the margin reflex distance (MRD1) indicated the presence of flare. CONCLUSIONS: - A single measurement of a lateral midpupil eyelid distance 2.5 mm medial to the lateral canthus is a sensitive and specific measurement for the diagnosis of the LLF.

Generation of Filler Emboli as a Mechanism for Filler-Related Blindness.

BACKGROUND: Intra-arterial injection of fillers can lead to occlusion of the ophthalmic artery or its branches supplying the retina or the optic nerve. The mechanism through which this occurs is incompletely understood. We investigated the possibility of generating microparticles after injecting commercially available fillers into a flowing system in vitro. METHODS: Three hyaluronic acid fillers and one calcium hydroxylapatite filler were injected into an artificial saline flow system mimicking arterial systolic blood pressure and corresponding to the diameter of the facial artery. All the saline at the end of the tube was collected, centrifuged, and inspected for filler particles. RESULTS: After injection into the system, all fillers immediately disintegrated into small particles that were carried downstream with the flow of the saline. The saline at the end of the tube contained collections of filler. CONCLUSION: Hyaluronic acid and hydroxylapatite fillers break up into small particles immediately after injection into a flowing system, generating emboli rather than a column of filler. The results of this study lead us to hypothesize another potential mechanism leading to filler-related blindness.

Frontalis Linkage Without Intraoperative Eyelid Elevation for the Management of Myopathic Ptosis.

PURPOSE: To report the effect of frontalis linkage without intraoperative eyelid elevation for the management of myopathic ptosis. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 21 (42 eyelids) myopathic patients with bilateral ptosis who were operated between 1999 and 2017. All patients had orbicularis weakness and poor or absent Bell's phenomenon. Surgery consisted of using an autogenous fascia sling to link the tarsal plate to the frontalis muscle without any degree of intraoperative eyelid elevation. The main outcome measures were margin reflex distance, brow height and degree of brow excursion and degree of lagophthalmos, and exposure keratitis. RESULTS: After surgery, there were significant changes (p <0.0001) in both margin reflex distance and brow position. Mean margin reflex distance increased to 1.4 mm ± 1.34 DP and with full frontalis contraction, it reached 3.0 mm ± 1.73 DP, while mean brow position decreased 1.6 mm ± 1.59 SD, p < 0.0001. Postoperative lagophthalmos was not detected in 31 (74%) eyes. In the remaining 11 eyes (26%), lagophthalmos ranged from 1.2 to 5.2 mm (mean = 1.7 mm ± 0.74 DP). Mild inferior superficial keratitis was detected in 14 eyes (33.3%) of 7 patients only 3 of which had lagophthalmos. One patient needed additional surgery to correct unilateral eyelid retraction. Overall, 81.81% of the patients were pleased with the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Myopathic ptosis can be alleviated with a minimal amount of lagophthalmos by just linking the tarsal plate to the frontalis muscle without lifting the eyelid margin intraoperatively.

Systemic Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Presenting as Bilateral Orbital Vasculopathy.

The authors report a case of a 58-year-old man with bilateral proptosis and signs of orbital inflammation without any associated systemic findings. MRI showed diffuse orbital infiltration. An intraconal orbital biopsy revealed polyclonal lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and non-necrotizing lymphoid small-vessel vasculopathy. The orbital symptoms resolved following a 2-week course of oral prednisone. Three months later, the patient experienced abdominal pain and weight loss. Ultrasonographic investigation showed hepatosplenomegaly, a retroperitoneal mass, and inguinal lymphadenopathy. A lymph node biopsy revealed a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient underwent chemotherapy but died 6 months later with metastatic disease. This case suggests that diffuse orbital inflammation with nonspecific vasculitis may be an early paraneoplastic finding associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Avaliação da qualidade de vida em hipertensos com uso do miniquestionário de qualidade de vida em hipertensão arterial (Minichal) / Evaluation of quality of life in hypertensive patients using the hipertension quality of life questionnaire (Minichal)

Objetivo. Avaliar a qualidade de vida em pessoas hipertensas e compará-la com a de normotensos por meio da utilização de questionário.Método. Estudo transversal, mediante aplicação do miniquestionário de qualidade de vida em portadores de hipertensão arterial (Minichal). O critério de inclusão ao grupo de hipertensos foi o uso de medicamento anti-hipertensivo, e o critério de exclusão, em ambos os grupos, a presença de comorbidade grave ou mal-estar recente. O Minichal contém dezessete questões objetivas, organizadas em estado mental, manifestações somáticas e uma questão sobre a influência da hipertensão e de seu tratamento na qualidade de vida. O entrevistado respondeu ao questionáriofazendo referência aos sete dias anteriores à aplicação. Essas foram distribuídas em escala de frequência tipo Likert, com quatro opções que variaram de 0 a 3. A avaliação estatística foi realizada com o teste t de Student. Resultados. A amostra consistiu de 182 indivíduos, sendo 96 hipertensos (52,7%) e 86 não hipertensos (47,3%). Com o uso da escala de frequência de Likert, observou-se que a média do estado mental para hipertensos foi 7,86 ± 4,39, e a média para normotensos foi 3,92 ± 2,51 (p = 0,05). Em relação às manifestações somáticas, os valoresmédios foram 7,32 ± 1,5 e 3,82 ± 1,92 (p = 0,001) para hipertensos e normotensos respectivamente. Conclusão. O Minichal mostrou ser confiável e de fácil aplicabilidade. Em todos os itens avaliados, houve diferença na observação da qualidade de vida, e as médias dos hipertensos evidenciaram piora desta em relação à dos normotensos

Objective. To assess the quality of life in hypertensive patients and to compare it with the normotensive using a questionnaire. Method. A cross-sectional study was done in Brasilia-DF by applying the hypertension quality of life questionnaire (Minichal). The inclusion criteria for hypertensive group was the use of antihypertensive medication, and theexclusion criterion in both groups, the presence of severe comorbidity or recent comorbidity. Minichal contains seventeen objective questions organized in mental status, somatic symptoms and one question on the influence of the hypertension and its treatment influence on quality of life. The interviewee answered the questionnaire referring to the seven days prior to application. The questions were distributed by frequency in the Likert scale with four options ranging from 0 to 3. Statistical analysis was performed with t-Student test. Results. The sample consisted of 182 cases, 96 hypertensive (52.7%) and 86 non-hypertensive (47.3%). Using the Likert scale we observed that the average of mental state for hypertensive people was 7.86 ± 4.39, while the average for normotensive patients was 3.9 ± 2.5. Regarding the somatic manifestations the values were 7.32 ± 1.5 (p = 0.057) and 3.82 ± 1.92 (p = 0,001) for hypertensive and normotensive respectively. Conclusion. Minichal questionnaire proved to be reliable and easily applicable. There was a difference in quality of life in all of the assessed items, with the mean showing a worsening on hypertensive patients in relation to that of normotensive patients.