Isolated Abducens Nerve Palsy: A Rare Manifestation of Recurrent Extramedullary Myeloma.

Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell neoplasm, which may present as a solitary plasmacytoma and, uncommonly, as an extramedullary plasmacytoma. Intracranial plasmacytomas may manifest in central nervous system involvement as cranial nerve palsies. Cranial nerve six palsy is the most common in cases of malignancy. However, isolated abducens palsy presenting as multiple myeloma recurrence is very uncommon. Here, we detail two cases in which intracranial plasmacytoma lesions were present within the region of the Dorello canal, resulting in acute isolated unilateral diplopia from disease recurrence in the absence of systemic marrow involvement.

[Intermittent exotropia complicated with spasm of the near reflex: a case report].

A 21-year-old female patient presented to the Ophthalmology Department of Yunnan University Affiliated Hospital with complaints of "bilateral blurred vision accompanied by diplopia for 3 weeks". The patient's main symptoms included intermittent visual blurring, diplopia, headaches, and ocular discomfort. Ocular examination revealed intermittent exotropia, sometimes accompanied by esotropia or orthotropia, along with signs of pupillary constriction and pseudomyopia. Based on the clinical presentation, a diagnosis of intermittent exotropia complicated by spasm of the near reflex (SNR) was made. The patient underwent bilateral exotropia surgery, which corrected the ocular alignment and resolved the symptoms and signs of SNR postoperatively.

Clinical Significance of Diplopia and the Orthoptic Examination in Zygomatic Maxillary Complex Fractures.

Literature describes variable rates of diplopia of associated with zygomatic maxillary complex (ZMC) fractures (6% to 40%). The aim of this study was to retrospectively assess the prevalence of diplopia in ZMC fracture patients, the usefulness of the orthoptic evaluation compared with the clinical finger-tracking examination, and to seek possible relations of this symptom with clinical parameters. Data of patients attending the Maxillofacial Surgery Units of the University of Messina and University of Naples "Federico II", between January 2012 and December 2022 were retrieved. Statistical analysis of positive versus negative diplopia at both the clinical examination and the orthoptic evaluation and subgroup analysis were performed. 320 patients were included in the analysis. 50 (15.6%) patients reported diplopia at the clinical examination, whereas 70 (21.9%) resulted positive at the orthoptic evaluation. Statistical analysis for every determinant and subgroup did not show statistical significance ( P >0.05). Performing routine preoperative orthoptic evaluation allowed an increase of 6.3% in positive reports. Although it seems that no basic clinical parameter can predict diplopia, results suggest that the orthoptic evaluation is superior in the assessment of this symptom. Clinical analysis was shown to be a moderate/low efficient test and should not be used as a decisional standard.

[Myasthenia as the cause of vertical diplopia in the elderly]. / Myasthenie als Ursache einer Vertikaldiplopie im Senium.

Myasthenia gravis is a well-understood autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular synapse that is medicinally treatable with favorable results and therefore should not be overlooked in the differential diagnostic evaluation of vertical diplopia. Myasthenia is primarily a clinical diagnosis. Positive indications include double vision of fluctuating severity, diurnal variations, double vision after lengthy gaze fixation on a distant object and in the primary position as well as diplopia in various visual directions, often associated with a varying extent of ptosis. Clinical tests are the Simpson test, the ice on eyes test and the probatory administration of pyridostigmine. Positive results corroborate this diagnosis but negative results do not exclude myasthenia. The same applies for the determination of specific autoantibodies. In addition to ocular symptoms it is important to search for generalized symptoms and bulbopharyngeal symptoms in particular should prompt immediate neurological diagnostics. In addition to symptomatic treatment a wide range of immunotherapeutic agents are available. Thymectomy is also used for immunomodulatory indications according to the 2023 revised guidelines. Patient-centered treatment goals, patient education and comprehensive information, also via the self-help organization German Myasthenia Society, are essential components of successful treatment of myasthenia.

[Differential diagnosis of vertical strabismus in the elderly]. / Differenzialdiagnose der Vertikaltropie im Senium.

Due to the demographic changes, the number of older patients in ophthalmological practices and clinics, including those with diplopia, is increasing. Some of the patients report not only horizontally shifted double images but also or only vertically shifted double images. Vertical double vision often causes significant diagnostic problems for ophthalmologists. The underlying condition could urgently require further neurological, neuroradiological and/or internal medical diagnostics (e.g., skew deviation, 4th nerve palsy, myasthenia, Graves' orbitopathy, orbital floor fracture, orbital mass, 3rd nerve palsy) but the cause of diplopia could also be a condition in which overdiagnosis should be avoided (e.g., sagging eye syndrome, the prevalence of which significantly increases with increasing age; decompensated strabismus due to inferior oblique muscle overaction, myopia-associated vertical tropia). For some diseases early diagnosis is important for a better prognosis, e.g., tumor diagnosis, Graves' disease and stroke. This article presents an overview of the most common and most important differential diagnoses of vertical tropia in patients over 50 years of age.

[Graves' orbitopathy as the cause of diplopia in old age-Differences between young and old]. / Endokrine Orbitopathie als Ursache einer Diplopie im Senium ­ Unterschiede zwischen Jung und Alt.

BACKGROUND: Endocrine orbitopathy (EO) is an autoimmune disease mostly associated with a disease of the thyroid gland, which leads to inflammation, adipogenesis and fibrosis. The severity of EO can vary greatly between individuals, which makes it difficult to exactly predict the natural course of the disease; however, this is important to be able to individually adapt the treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical features, course, treatment and prognosis for patients with EO under 50 years old with older patients. The results of the study with a focus on motility are presented in this special issue. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The hospital records of a randomly selected sample of 1000 patients from the EO databank in Essen (GODE), which includes 4260 patients, were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 ≤50 years and group 2 >50 years. Only patients with complete data sets were included in the statistical analyses. RESULTS: Younger patients (n = 484) presented significantly more frequently with milder EO (53% vs. 33%, p < 0.0001), whereas older patients (n = 448) more frequently suffered from moderate or severe forms (44% vs. 64%, p < 0.0001). Older patients showed more severe strabismus, motility and clinical activity scores (5.9 vs. 2.3 prism diopters, PD/310° vs. 330°, both p < 0.0001, CAS 2.1 vs. 1.7, p = 0.001). Proptosis and the occurrence of optic nerve compression showed no significant differences between the groups (3% each). Multiple logistic regression showed that the necessity for a second eye muscle surgery was most strongly associated with a previous decompression (OR = 0.12, 95 % CI 0.1-0.2, p < 0.0001), followed by orbital irradiation and age. CONCLUSION: In summary, younger patients with EO presented with milder clinical features, such as a lower rate of restrictive motility disorders and weaker expression of signs of inflammation. Therefore, older patients needed steroids, irradiation, eyelid and eye muscle surgery more frequently; however, the risk of dysthyroid optic neuropathy and the necessity of a second eye surgery were not or only slightly associated with age.

Surgical Outcomes of Revision Orbital Reconstruction in Patients With Inadequate Primary Orbital Fracture Repair.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with complications following inadequate primary orbital fracture repair and to evaluate surgical outcomes of secondary revision orbital reconstruction. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed data from 41 patients who underwent revision orbital reconstruction by a single surgeon following complications from primary orbital fracture repair performed elsewhere. Clinical characteristics, including enophthalmos, exophthalmos, diplopia, ocular motility limitation, epiphora, infraorbital hypoesthesia, infection, eyelid malposition, lagophthalmos, hypoglobus, and compressive optic neuropathy, were assessed. Surgical outcomes of revision surgery were evaluated to determine improvements in clinical deficits and postoperative patient satisfaction. RESULTS: The most common postoperative complications of primary orbital fracture repair were enophthalmos (n=20/41) and diplopia (n=20/41). The mean time between primary and revision surgeries was 67.2 months (range: 1-276 mo). Revision surgery significantly improved enophthalmos, diplopia (Hess area ratio), epiphora (Munk score), periorbital pain, and exophthalmos ( P =0.003, P =0.001, P <0.001, P <0.001, and P =0.007, respectively) compared to the pre-revision state. In addition, 6 patients experienced improved infraorbital hypoesthesia. Among the 41 patients, 23 were very satisfied, 17 were satisfied, and 1 was neutral after revision orbital reconstruction. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the positive impact of revision orbital reconstruction in addressing complications from inadequate primary orbital fracture repair. Surgeons should consider revision surgery to address clinical deficits following prior surgery, especially when anatomic abnormalities are evident in imaging studies, regardless of the time lapse since the initial surgery or concerns about tissue fibrosis and fat atrophy.

Characteristics and type of strabismus associated to macular diplopia. Treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical characteristics of macular diplopia, treatment, and outcome. METHODS: Retrospective descriptive study of cases referred to the ocular motility section of a tertiary hospital with diplopia, diagnosed with macular diplopia between 2022-23. The etiology of the macular pathology and the type of associated strabismus were recorded. The result was considered good if the diplopia improved or was eliminated with the medical or surgical treatment. Follow-up time from the onset of diplopia until data collection was recorded. RESULTS: a total of 19 cases comprised the sample (63.2% women), mean age: 67.16 years. Amblyopia (21.1%), high myopia (47.4%), epirretinal membrane (ERM) (36.8%), neovascular membrane (26.3%), macular hole (10.5%), and lamellar (15.8%), and age macular degeneration (5.3%) were registered. The 47.4% had vertical diplopia, horizontal: 5.3 and 47.4% mixed. The mean horizontal deviation was: 7.3 PD (prism diopters) and vertical: 6.22 PD. Ocular extorsion was observed in 26.3%, and intorsion: 5.3%. Torticollis was present in 15.8%. The treatment consisted of strabismus surgery + Botox (15.8%), strabismus surgery (47.4%), medical treatment with Fresnel prims or Scotch cellophane (36.8%). A 68.4% presented a good result at the end of the study. The mean follow-up was 55.58 months. CONCLUSIONS: Misregistration of macular photoreceptors is the most common cause of binocular diplopia in patients with ERM or other macular pathologies. Most complains of vertical or mixed diplopia. Sensorimotor evaluation of these patients should be thorough. Early diagnosis prevents unnecessary prescription of prism glasses. Surgical and/or medical treatment achieves good results in most cases.

Ocular lichen planus as a cause of recurrent restrictive strabismus.

We report the case of an 80-year-old man with restrictive strabismus in lateral gaze following multiple oculoplastic procedures for idiopathic epiphora. Despite excellent initial response to nasal conjunctival recession with lysis of adhesions and a miminal recession of the medial rectus muscle, the patient suffered recurrence of diplopia associated with limitation of abduction due to aggressive, deep, subconjunctival scarring. Given the history of oral lichen planus (LP), the patient was diagnosed with ocular involvement of LP. He underwent a second conjunctival recession, this time accompanied by an intensive LP treatment regimen. Nine months after surgery, he remained diplopia free and orthophoric in primary gaze. Surgeons treating restrictive strabismus in patients with LP should consider implementing systemic and topical immunosuppressive treatment simultaneously with surgical management.

Efficacy of tocilizumab in patients with moderate-to-severe corticosteroid-resistant thyroid eye disease: a prospective study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of intravenous tocilizumab (TCZ) injection in patients with moderate-to-severe active thyroid eye disease (TED). METHODS: Patients with active and moderate-to-severe TED who did not respond to conventional therapies were treated with TCZ from June 2019 to January 2021. The medical records of the patients were evaluated before the treatment. We analyzed patient demographics, including the duration of Graves' disease and TED, and assessed subjective symptoms, such as diplopia and ocular movement, clinical activity score (CAS), modified NOSPECS score, and exophthalmos before treatment and at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after the first drug injection. Blood tests, including TSH Rc Ab and TS Ab, were performed before treatment and 24 weeks after the first injection. And orbital computed tomography (CT) was performed and Barrett's Index was calculated at baseline and after completion of all injections. RESULTS: Nineteen completed the scheduled treatment. There were no significant side effects, other than herpes zoster in one case and headache and dermatitis in another. Clinical symptoms before and 16 weeks after the treatment showed mean CAS decreased by 2.4 points, mean modified NOSPECS score decreased by 3.7 points, and mean exophthalmos decreased by 0.4 mm. Diplopia and extraocular muscle limitation improved in ten and remained stationary in five of the 15 patients, who presented with extraocular motility abnormalities. Six of 11 patients who underwent orbit CT showed improvement in muscle size. The mean TSH Rc Ab decreased by 7.5 IU/L and TS-Ab decreased by 162.9%. CONCLUSION: TCZ can treat active moderate-to-severe TED, showing high drug compliance and reasonable response to inflammation and extraocular motility abnormality.

Accuracy of Repetitive Ocular Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials to Diagnose Myasthenia Gravis in Patients With Ptosis or Diplopia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We developed repetitive ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (roVEMP) as an electrophysiologic test that allows us to elicit the characteristic decrement of extraocular muscles in patients with ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG). Case-control studies demonstrated that roVEMP reliably differentiates patients with OMG from healthy controls. We now aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of roVEMP for OMG diagnosis in patients with ptosis and/or diplopia. METHODS: In this blinded prospective diagnostic accuracy trial, we compared roVEMP in 89 consecutive patients presenting with ptosis and/or diplopia suspicious of OMG with a multimodal diagnostic approach, including clinical examination, antibodies, edrophonium testing, repetitive nerve stimulation of accessory and facial nerves, and single-fiber EMG (SFEMG). We calculated the roVEMP decrement as the ratio between the mean of the first 2 responses compared with the mean of the sixth-ninth responses in the train and used cutoff of >9% (unilateral decrement) in a 30 Hz stimulation paradigm. RESULTS: Following a complete diagnostic work-up, 39 patients (44%) were diagnosed with ocular MG, while 50 patients (56%) had various other neuro-ophthalmologic conditions, but not MG (non-MG). roVEMP yielded 88.2% sensitivity, 30.2% specificity, 50% positive predictive value (PPV), and 76.5% negative predictive value (NPV). For comparison, SFEMG resulted in 75% sensitivity, 56% specificity, 55.1% PPV, and 75.7% NPV. All other diagnostic tests (except for the ice pack test) also yielded significantly higher positive results in patients with MG compared with non-MG. DISCUSSION: The study revealed a high sensitivity of 88.2% for roVEMP in OMG, but specificity and PPV were too low to allow for the OMG diagnosis as a single test. Thus, differentiating ocular MG from other neuro-ophthalmologic conditions remains challenging, and the highest diagnostic accuracy is still obtained by a multimodal approach. In this study, roVEMP can complement the diagnostic armamentarium for the diagnosis of MG. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class I evidence that in patients with diplopia and ptosis, roVEMP alone does not accurately distinguish MG from non-MG disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03049956.

Amaurosis and transient diplopia, a rare complication secondary to mandibular nerve block: A case report.

Ocular complications are one of the rare side effects that can be seen after a mandibular nerve block and have the most dramatic results. Since the mandibular nerve block is mostly performed by dentists, this complication is mostly seen after an intraoral mandibular nerve block. The mandibular nerve is the third division of the trigeminal nerve. It is the most caudal and lateral part of Gasser's ganglion. It arises from the middle cranial fossa through the foramen ovale. In this region, a block method, which is performed by passing through the coronoid process, has been defined. This block, usually made using anatomical markers, is used in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. A 42-year-old female patient was admitted to our department for a maxillary and mandibular block with a diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia. Immediately after the administration of the local anesthetic, the patient described a complete loss of vision. The complaint of vision loss lasted for about 1 minute, after which the patient's complaint of diplopia continued for 2 hours and 10 minutes. This case report presents the ocular complications after a mandibular block applied with the extraoral technique as an unexpected side effect.

Visual rehabilitation after LASIK complication: flap amputation, topo-guided surgery, and phacoemulsification.

We present a case of a patient complaining of monocular diplopia due to a decentered ablation after LASIK. The patient underwent a wavefront-guided retreatment, which resulted in an epithelial ingrowth complication. Additionally, the patient developed cataract, with cataract surgery requiring reliable biometric measurements. Therefore, we opted for corneal treatment and corneal surface regularization. Although we attempted to lift the flap and wash the interface initially, the procedure proved unsuccessful, thereby necessitating immediate flap amputation. Once the corneal surface was regularized in the seventh postoperative month, transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy was successfully performed to homogenize the ocular surface, thereby significantly improving the patient's corrected visual acuity and resolving monocular diplopia. The surface and corneal curvature stabilized by the fifth month after the procedure. Phacoemulsification was then performed along with the implantation of a toric monofocal lens, which was selected using an appropriate formula, resulting in an excellent uncorrected visual acuity.

Unusual and Rare Causes of Monocular Elevation Deficit.

INTRODUCTION: To study the rare and unusual causes of monocular elevation deficit. METHODS: Five patients presenting to us with diplopia and elevation deficit were thoroughly examined and were found to have monocular elevation deficit due to rare causes. OBSERVATIONS: All five were found to have different underlying etiologies - iatrogenic, sphenoid wing meningioma, cysticercosis, sarcoidosis and mid brain infarct, and were managed appropriately. DISCUSSION: Monocular Elevation Deficit can occur due to a variety of causes. Having a high index of suspicion for the more serious etiologies is of utmost importance. Thorough clinical examination and imaging help clinch the diagnosis.

Superior Ophthalmic Vein Thrombosis Associated With Asymptomatic COVID-19 Infection.

Superior ophthalmic vein thrombosis is a rare condition scarcely described in clinical literature with potentially severe consequences including permanent vision loss. This report details the case of a 70-year-old woman who presented with acute binocular horizontal diplopia, relative proptosis of the OD by 4 mm, and pain OD. On exam, visual acuity was 20/20 OD and 20/30 OS with full extraocular movements. CT revealed proptosis OD with a thrombosed superior ophthalmic varix. Evaluation for etiology of hypercoagulability was unremarkable, although the patient did have an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection 1 month prior. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of superior ophthalmic vein thrombosis secondary to an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection.

Transorbital and endonasal resection of a rare orbital ectopic atypical meningioma.

A female patient in her early 20s presented with increasing proptosis of her left eye over 2 months. She had no other signs of diplopia, pain or visual loss on initial presentation. Subsequent imaging of her orbits revealed a medial rectus tumour. A transorbital open biopsy of this tumour was non-diagnostic/inconclusive, hence a combined transorbital and endonasal resection of this tumour was performed. Histopathology of the resected tumour revealed an unusual inflammatory-rich spindle cell neoplasm, which was determined to be a primary orbital ectopic atypical meningioma. These tumours are exceedingly rare, with only case reports/series reported in the literature. Complete surgical resection with margins is the proposed treatment. The role of radiotherapy is still controversial. More studies are required to improve our knowledge of this condition.