Atypical Central Serous Chorioretinopathy Masquerading as Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease: A Case Report.

Introduction: We aimed to describe a clinical presentation of central serous retinopathy that poses a diagnostic and management dilemma. Case Presentation: A 30-year-old male patient presented with bilateral vision loss and multifocal serous retinal detachments involving the posterior pole of both eyes. Optical coherence tomography revealed prominent bilateral bacillary layer detachments. The patient complained of recent headaches and tinnitus. However, the clinical exam did not reveal overt inflammation and the patient admitted to being under significant stress. The clinical presentation raised concerns for both central serous retinopathy (CSR) and Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH). Additional findings, including white fundus spots and focal areas of retinal vascular leakage, were seen in our patient. We highlight these because, while they have been described in CSR, they are not commonly discussed and could add to the diagnostic dilemma. After a conservative approach that avoided steroids, our patient showed marked improvement over the following month, supporting a diagnosis of CSR. Conclusion: CSR can mimic VKH disease. A high level of suspicion is needed to avoid instituting steroid therapy that could induce a severe iatrogenic exacerbation of the disease.

No prostate? No problem: robotic inguinal hernia repair after prostatectomy.

Traditional teaching suggests that prior pelvic operations, including prostatectomy, are a contraindication to laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Despite the growing use of robotic platforms in inguinal hernia repair, there are few studies describing robotic-assisted inguinal hernia repairs (RIHR) in this patient population. This study aims to demonstrate that RIHR is safe and effective in repairing inguinal hernias in patients who had previously undergone prostatectomy. We retrospectively reviewed RIHR cases performed from March 2017 to October 2021 by a single surgeon at our university-affiliated community hospital. Cases were reviewed for preoperative considerations, operative times and complications, and postoperative outcomes. A total of 30 patients with prior prostatectomy underwent transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) RIHR with mesh. Sixteen of the 30 patients had undergone robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP), while 14 patients underwent open resection. Seven of the patients had received post-resection radiation and 12 had previous non-urologic abdominal operations. When compared to all RIHRs performed over the same period, duration of surgery was increased. There were no conversions to open surgery. Postoperatively, one patient developed a repair site seroma which resolved after 1 month. Mean follow-up time was 8.0 months. At follow-up, one patient reported experiencing intermittent non-debilitating pain at the repair site and one patient developed an inguinoscrotal abscess of unknown relation to the repair. No patients reported hernia recurrences nor mesh infection. This review suggests that TAPP RIHR can be a safe and effective approach to inguinal hernia repair in patients who have previously undergone prostatectomy, including those who received radiation and those who underwent either open or robotic resections.

Comparing the Diagnostic Utility of Conventional Direct Ophthalmoscopy with Smartphone Ophthalmoscopy among Medical Students.

Purpose To compare the diagnostic ability of medical students using smartphone ophthalmoscopy (SO) with conventional direct ophthalmoscopy (DO). Methods Twenty-eight first- and second-year medical students were trained to use the SO and DO. They also attended educational seminars regarding optic nerve and retinal pathology and were given hands-on practice with each ophthalmoscopy method. Students were randomized 2:1 into one of the groups (DO or SO). Students then examined six patients and recorded their findings, ease of use, and confidence level on a questionnaire. Two attending ophthalmologists, masked to the randomization, graded the student questionnaires. A priori power calculation determined the sample size. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of correct diagnoses the students made. Two-sample t -test, Wilcoxon's rank-sum test, and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the outcomes. Results Students using the SO outperformed students using DO in terms of mean percent correct (% correct) diagnosis (smartphone: 42% vs. direct: 23%; p -value = 0.0057), mean % correct photo match (smartphone: mean = 60% vs. direct: 32%; p -value = 0.0052), and mean % correct nerve/retinal descriptors (smartphone: 72% vs. direct: 59%; p -value = 0.0048). There was not a significant difference in terms of perceived ease of use (smartphone: mean = 3.3 vs. direct: mean = 2.6; p -value = 0.0945), or subjective confidence (smartphone: mean = 2.6 vs. direct: mean = 2.1; p -value = 0.0808) between the two groups. Conclusion SO provides an alternate way for medical students to learn, diagnose, and describe ocular pathology.

Feasibility of robotic-assisted minimally invasive inguinal hernia repair in patients with urologic considerations including artificial urinary sphincters and bladder herniation.

Robotic surgical technology has the potential to broaden the applicability of minimally invasive approaches into more complex, technically challenging inguinal hernia repairs. A unique patient population requiring inguinal hernia repair are those patients who either have artificial urinary sphincters (AUS) or inguinal bladder herniation (IBH). Traditionally, these patients have not been considered candidates for minimally invasive inguinal hernia repairs. Through this retrospective series, we aim to contribute to the growing body of literature on robotic-assisted inguinal hernia repair (RIHR) by describing our experience with RIHR in this patient subset. We performed a retrospective chart review of RIHR cases performed from June 2017 to April 2019 by a single surgeon at our university-affiliated community hospital. Charts were reviewed for preoperative considerations, operative complications, and postoperative outcomes. A total of three patients with an AUS and six patients with IBH were included, all of whom were male. All the patients received transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approaches, and all received placement of mesh. There were no intraoperative complications and no conversions to open surgery. Postoperatively, one patient with IBH had persistent surgical site pain that resolved after 3 weeks and one patient, also with IBH, had a surgical site seroma that resolved without further intervention. Mean follow-up time was 10.71 and 12.13 months for patients with AUS and IBH, respectively. No patients reported hernia recurrence during this time. This review suggests that the use of robotic assistance for laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair is safe and effective and may provide additional benefits for patients with concurrent urological considerations such as AUS and IBH.