Evaluation of Ab externo subretinal bands removal during pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment complicated by proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

BACKGROUND: To compare the safety and efficacy of Ab-externo subretinal bands removal in comparison with the classical Ab-interno approach during pars plana vitrectomy for primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. METHODS: Subjects aged 28-62 years with primary RRD complicated by proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) with subretinal bands interfering with retinal flattening were treated by pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and silicone oil injection. Subretinal bands were removed using the classical AB interno approach through one or more retinotomies in ten patients (group A) and using AB externo approach in twenty cases (group B). Post-operative follow-up visits occurred at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months, after surgery. The main outcomes were assessment of subretinal bands removal efficacy, documentation of complications, anatomical reattachment rate, and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between both groups regarding patients' age, gender, lens status, and the onset of retinal detachment. Seventy percent of both groups presented with inferior retinal detachment while ten percent presented with temporal detachments and twenty percent had a total retinal detachment. Both groups had a statistically significant improvement in postoperative visual acuity in comparison with preoperative visual acuity (P = 0.005 for group A and P = < 0.001 for group B). There was no statistically significant difference between both groups regarding preoperative (P = 0.928) and postoperative (P = 0.185) visual acuity. A higher incidence of complications was reported in group A (40%) in comparison with group B (30%) but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.69). More Epimacular membranes were seen postoperatively in group A (30%) in comparison with group B (20%) but again this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.657). Subretinal hemorrhage was seen in ten percent of cases in both groups. Intraocular pressure was measured in every follow-up of all patients in both groups, no statistically significant difference was found between both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Both techniques are effective and safe to remove subretinal bands with similar outcomes.

Functional assessment of early retinal changes in diabetic patients without clinical retinopathy using multifocal electroretinogram.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess early retinal changes in diabetic subjects without clinical retinopathy using multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG). METHODS: Twenty eyes of 20 diabetic subjects type 2 without retinopathy and 20 eyes of 20 healthy controls of the same age and sex were eligible for our study and underwent mfERG. MfERG responses were recorded; N1-P1 amplitude and P1 implicit time of the 5 rings recorded were measured and analyzed. RESULTS: The reduction in N1-P1 amplitude and the delay in P1-implicit time in type 2 diabetic subjects were statistically significant in most of the assessed rings compared to controls (p <  0.001). Moreover, N1-P1 amplitude was negatively correlated with diabetes duration. However, there was a positive correlation between P1-implicit time and diabetes duration in type 2 diabetic subjects in four out of five rings (p <  0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed reduced mfERG N1-P1 amplitude and delayed P1-implicit time indiabetic patients without retinopathy compared to normal controls. Implicit time andamplitude were significantly affected by diabetes duration. These results propose a valuable role of mfERG in evaluating the expected neuroretinal dysfunction before the clinical development of diabetic retinopathy. Early detection of functional abnormalities indicates that the patients need more tight medical control of diabetes. More well-designed studies are needed to assert upon these results.

Conjunctival flap advancement with or without scleral graft for hypotony maculopathy after trabeculectomy.

AIM: To investigate the outcomes of adaptive conjunctival flap advancement surgical techniques with or without scleral graft for patients undergoing revision surgery after trabeculectomy. METHODS: This retrospective study included 28 eyes of 28 subjects from December 2015 to April 2018. A group of 15 eyes underwent conjunctival advancement only while the other 13 eyes did conjunctival advancement with partial thickness scleral graft. In both study groups, we considered the intraocular pressure (IOP) as our primary outcome and visual acuity (VA) as our secondary outcome. Both were assessed pre- and post-operatively till the last follow-up possible point. Additionally, we classified the patients according to complete and qualified success criteria. RESULTS: The mean age of the conjunctival advancement group was 36.87±19.25y, while it was 44.08±18.04 in the other group. In both study groups, the mean IOP significantly increased after revision surgery at 1, 2, 3mo and the last follow-up visit when compared to prior the surgery (P<0.001). Moreover, VA was significantly improved (P=0.03) in the final follow-up for both surgical techniques. When we compared the change from baseline in both groups, there was no significant difference between IOP improvement in 1mo (P=0.263), while the difference was significant in 2mo (P=0.03), 3mo (P=0.02) and in the final follow-up visit postoperatively. However, this difference was not significant regarding VA (P=0.5). CONCLUSION: The both adaptive techniques of conjunctival advancement and conjunctival advancement with scleral graft are effective for treating patients with late-onset hypotony. Yet, more prospective studies are needed to assert upon these results.

Association Between Keratoconus and Thyroid Gland Dysfunction: A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study.

PURPOSE: To examine the clinical association between thyroid gland dysfunction and keratoconus. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional case-control study conducted between May 2018 and July 2019. After performing Pentacam (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) examination, flat, steep, and maximum simulated keratometric readings were recorded for each patient. Serum concentrations of free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, and thyroid-stimulating hormone were measured. Further examinations by an endocrinologist were indicated for patients with positive laboratory results to confirm thyroid gland dysfunction. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-seven patients with bilateral keratoconus and 187 sex- and age-matched healthy controls without keratoconus were analyzed. Mean age was 26.4 ± 8.2 years for the patients with keratoconus and 27.1 ± 9.4 years for the control patients, with no significant difference. The results showed that thyroid gland dysfunction prevalence was 10 of 187 patients with keratoconus (5.3%) and 2 of 187 control patients (1.1%), and the difference was statistically significant (P = .036). For the patients with keratoconus and thyroid gland dysfunction, 8 were women and 2 were men. Additionally, 6 patients (2 men and 4 women) had hyperthyrosis and 4 women had hypothyrosis. For controls, the two patients had hypothyrosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that there is a possible association between keratoconus and thyroid gland dysfunction, but more studies are needed to build upon these results. [J Refract Surg. 2020;36(4):253-257.].

Comparison between refractive outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery and standard phacoemulsification.

BACKGROUND: To compare the visual and refractive outcomes of femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) using Victus platform (Technolas Bausch and Lomb (B&L), Munich, Germany) and conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery (CPCS). METHODS: A retrospective study of 100 eyes operated for cataract. FLACS was performed in 50 eyes and CPCS was done in another 50 eyes. Preoperative and 6 months postoperative visual and refractive evaluation (efficacy, safety, predictability, and surgically induced astigmatism) as well as higher-order aberrations were analyzed. Efficacy index which equals post-operative mean of uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) divided by preoperative mean corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) was calculated in both groups. Safety index equals post-operative mean of corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) divided by preoperative mean CDVA. RESULTS: Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (LogMAR), UDVA improved in both groups after surgery (p < 0.05). It was 0.23 ± 0.20 and 0.291 ± 0.311 log MAR in FLACS and CPCS groups respectively. Safety index was 1.777 in FLACS group and 1.744 in CPCS groups showing high degree of safety of both measures. Mean surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) was 0.35 ± 0.67 D and 0.901 ± 0.882 D in FLACS and CPCS groups respectively (p = 0.015). The post-operative comparison between both groups was in favor of CPCS group vs. FLACS group regarding total aberrations (0.563 ± 0.386 vs. 0.91 ± 1.20) (p = 0.03), while low order aberrations were significantly less in FLACS group vs. CPCS group (0.64 + 0.63 vs. 2.07 + 3.15) (p = 0.027). RMS high order aberration was higher in FLACS group vs. CPCS group but of no statistical significance 0.54 ± 0.96 vs. 0.328 ± 0.360 (p = 0.082). CONCLUSION: Femtosecond laser -assisted cataract surgery was a safe and precise procedure but enhanced visual outcomes only minimally when compared to conventional cataract surgery in experienced hands. Both FLACS and manual surgeries can achieve a high efficacy, predictability and safety with slight superior outcomes in FLACS. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PACTR201804003256258 (date: 27 Mar 2018) Available at: https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/.

Pattern of Intermediate Uveitis in an Egyptian Cohort.

Purpose: To describe the clinical experience with intermediate uveitis at six Egyptian tertiary eye centers.Methods: A multicenter retrospective chart review of all patients with intermediate uveitis seen at six ocular inflammation referral clinics in Egypt between January 2010 and January 2017.Results: The study included a total of 781 patients with intermediate uveitis. The study cohort comprised of 282 male and 499 female patients. In over half of our cohort (58.77%), no specific cause could be confirmed. The remaining patients had sarcoidosis (16.26%), tuberculosis (14.85%), multiple sclerosis (9.09%), and TINU (1.02%). By the end of our study, 62% of the affected eyes had a BCVA better than 20/40Conclusion: More than 40% of our patients with intermediate uveitis had sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, or TINU as the underlying etiology. Owing to their potential morbidity, these diseases need to be considered in Egyptian patients presenting with intermediate uveitis.

Corneal Safety and Stability in Cases of Small Incision Lenticule Extraction with Collagen Cross-Linking (SMILE Xtra).

PURPOSE: To assess the safety and stability in cases of small incision lenticule extraction with collagen cross-linking (SMILE Xtra). METHODS: This study was a retrospective interventional comparative study that included 60 eyes of 30 patients divided equally into two groups: SMILE Xtra and SMILE alone. The inclusion criteria were patients >18 years of age, myopic error >6 D, thinner cornea <520 microns, and abnormal corneal topography. Outcome data were recorded including uncorrected distance visual acuity and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA and CDVA), manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE), central corneal thickness, average keratometry, endothelial cell density, corneal resistance factor (CRF), and corneal densitometry. The follow-up period was 24 months. RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the 2 groups regarding UDVA, CDVA, and MRSE at 1 month. In the SMILE Xtra group, 90% of eyes had postoperative UDVA of 20/20 and 97% had UDVA of 20/30 at 24 months. At 24 months, 26 eyes (87%) vs. 25 eyes (84%) were within ±0.50 D of attempted correction in SMILE Xtra and SMILE groups, respectively. Regarding stability, both groups showed improvement of MRSE at 1st month postoperatively and remained stable along the 24 months of follow-up. CRF and corneal densitometry were higher in the SMILE Xtra group along the whole follow-up period (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Combining corneal cross-linking with SMILE procedure (SMILE Xtra) is a promising tool to prevent ectasia in high-risk patients. It is a safe and simple procedure that can be offered to patients undergoing SMILE with risk for ectasia. Trial registration no: PACTR201810577524718.