Congenital simple hamartoma of the retinal pigment epithelium: 4 cases with multimodal imaging.

BACKGROUND: Congenital simple hamartoma of the retinal pigment epithelium is often identified as an incidental finding. One important issue is the differentiation of these benign lesions from other lesions which could be potentially sight-threatening. METHODS: This study describes 4 cases of congenital simple hamartoma of the retinal pigment epithelium that were referred to a university-based hospital. Multimodal imaging including fundus photo, multicolor fundus photo, fundus autofluorescence, optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography, fluorescein angiography and multifocal electroretinogram is provided. RESULTS: The first case is a young man with an incidental finding of this lesion. The second and third cases are diabetic patients with congenital simple hamartoma of the retinal pigment epithelium and diabetic macular edema and the fourth one is a case of congenital simple hamartoma of the retinal pigment epithelium with a full-thickness macular hole. CONCLUSIONS: Differentiation of congenital simple hamartoma of the retinal pigment epithelium from other potentially sight-threatening lesions is important. Multimodal imaging can be helpful regarding this issue. Besides typical findings described in the literature, unique features in our cases include concurrent diabetic macular edema and association with a full-thickness macular hole.

Minced Free Fat Graft Versus Pedicle Fat Flap to Efface Orbital Rim Hollow in Lower Blepharoplasty.

BACKGROUND: Lower eyelid fat flap repositioning during transconjunctival lower blepharoplasty (TCLB) is a widely accepted technique for preventing postoperative tear trough deformity. Its drawbacks include retraction, limited volume, transcutaneous fixation, and a complex insertion technique. The minced lower eyelid fat graft was introduced to overcome these drawbacks. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the outcome of preperiosteal pedicle fat flaps with minced free fat graft in TCLB. METHODS: Participants who underwent the pedicle fat flap procedure from April 2019 to April 2020 (Group A) and the minced free fat graft from May 2020 to May 2021 (Group B) with at least 6 months of follow-up were included. Subjective (pain, infraorbital numbness) and objective (chemosis, residual skin wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, tear trough deformity, bumps) postoperative outcomes, satisfaction (visual analogue scale score) at the last follow-up, and reoperation rates were compared. RESULTS: There were 142 participants (94% females) with a mean age of 48.4 years (range: 21-71) and a follow-up of 8.2 months (range: 6-36). There were 73 participants in Group A and 69 in Group B, with no significant differences in age (P = .6), sex (P = .7), or follow-up (P = .3). In addition to TCLB, Groups A and B had simultaneous upper eyelid and eyebrow procedures (53% vs 49%, P = .2), lateral canthal plication (77% vs 83%, P = .4), and pinch skin excision (82% vs 88%, P = .3). Groups A and B did not have significant differences in postoperative numbness (6.8% vs 1.4%, P = .2), chemosis (11% vs 10%, P = 1), skin wrinkles (12.3% vs 8.7%, P = .6), hyperpigmentation (1.4% in both groups), bumps (2.7% vs 7.2%, P = .3), tear trough deformity (0.0% in both groups), satisfaction score (97.7% vs 98.1%, P = .4), or reoperation rate (12.3% vs 5.8%, P = .2). CONCLUSIONS: The desired aim of fat redistribution in TCLB seems to be equally achievable with minced fat graft and pedicle fat flap techniques.