High-frequency ultrasonographic imaging in suprachoroidal hemorrhage after filtering surgery.

A 64-year-old woman with glaucoma had suprachoroidal hemorrhage approximately 6 hours after trabeculectomy. High-frequency ultrasonography revealed high reflectivity in the inner space of a kissing choroidal detachment, which facilitated the differential diagnosis of suprachoroidal hemorrhage resulting from serous choroidal detachment. The ciliary process and iris were anteriorly displaced due to the ciliary detachment and forward pressure of the anterior vitreous. On the basis of the diagnosis, transscleral choroidal drainage was performed without delay and the patient's vision was preserved. After surgery, suprachoroidal hemorrhage disappeared clinically, but high-frequency ultrasonography detected persistence of the choroidal detachment in the peripheral area.

Measurement of axial length of eyes with incomplete filling of silicone oil in the vitreous cavity using x ray computed tomography.

AIMS: To establish a reliable method for measuring the axial length of the eye with incomplete filling of silicone oil in the vitreous cavity in order to determine the IOL power before executing combined cataract surgery and silicone oil removal. METHODS: 12 eyes of 12 patients undergoing combined cataract extraction and silicone oil removal between October 1998 and June 2000 were entered prospectively into this study. All eyes were examined using an x ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. Each axial length of a silicone oil injected eye was measured on the best CT slice among eyeball cuts, which showed both the insertions of the medial and lateral rectus muscle, the thickest slice of the lens, and the optic nerve. The IOL power for the eyes was determined using the SRK/T formula based on the CT data. The deviation of postoperative refraction from the goal refraction was evaluated for each eye. RESULTS: The CT slices demonstrated that the vitreous cavity was not completely filled with the oil in all of the silicone oil injected eyes. The deviation of postoperative refraction from the goal refraction was less than 1 dioptre (D) error in six of 12 eyes (50%), and was less than 2 D error in nine eyes (75%). In the other three eyes having more than 2 D error, the axial length was 27 mm or more. CONCLUSION: The CT measurement of axial eye length for determining IOL might be a useful method for evaluating silicone oil injected eyes before combined cataract surgery and silicone oil removal.

Thallium-201 SPECT of orbital tumors.

Thallium-201 ((201)Tl) SPECT is utilized as a diagnostic imaging tool for a variety of tumors, such as lung cancer, brain tumors, etc., but there is hardly any literature on this type of imaging in orbital lesions. We examined 22 patients with orbital lesions and unilateral exophthalmos to evaluate the usefulness of (201)Tl-SPECT in the diagnosis of orbital tumors. All 22 cases had a confirmed histopathological diagnosis. The patients underwent (201)Tl-SPECT imaging before therapy. Early images were obtained 15 minutes after the intravenous administration of 74 MBq (201)Tl-chloride, and delayed images were taken 3 hours later. The intensities of (201)Tl accumulation in the early and delayed images were measured. Three out of four patients with cavernous hemangiomas, one of two with neurinomas, all three with pleomorphic adenomas, one with lipoma, and one with dermoid cyst had negative scans, but the other 13 patients all displayed ( 201)Tl accumulation in the area of the tumor. Four malignant lymphomas, two reactive lymphoid hyperplasias, one meningioma, one neurinoma, one adenoid cystic carcinoma and one plasmacytoma showed increased uptake, especially in the early phase. The most intense uptake was seen in the metastic renal cell carcinoma, in both early and delayed phases. We conclude that (201)Tl-SPECT can be useful in predicting the histopathological diagnosis of orbital tumors, especially by comparing the accumulation rate in the early and delayed phases.