Assessing the value of preoperative medical clearance in patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

PURPOSE: To determine rates of intraoperative and postoperative systemic and ocular adverse events and establish the value of preoperative medical assessment in patients undergoing surgery for primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair at a single academic center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of 185 patients undergoing surgery for repair of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) at a single academic center. Medical records were reviewed for medical comorbidities, completion of preoperative medical examination, anesthesia used during surgery, intraoperative adverse medical events, intraoperative ocular complications, and systemic and ocular postoperative complications. The main outcome of interest was the association of comorbidities and preoperative medical evaluation with intraoperative and postoperative complications. RESULTS: Approximately 48% of the patients presented with no medical comorbidities of interest. Formal preoperative evaluation by an independent medical provider was completed in 36% of the patients. Overall, intraoperative and postoperative systemic complications (5.7% and 1%, respectively) and intraoperative and postoperative ocular complications (0.5% for both) were uncommon. Patients with a history of chronic heart failure (OR 24.5, P=0.02) or who received general anesthesia (OR 9.56, P<0.001) had increased risk of having experienced any intraoperative or postoperative complication. No relationship between preoperative medical evaluation and intraoperative and postoperative complications was observed. CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing surgery for RRD repair presented with fewer medical comorbidities than previously reported in patients undergoing all vitreoretinal surgeries. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were uncommon and were increased in patients with chronic heart failure or who received general anesthesia. Complications were not significantly associated with preoperative evaluation by an independent medical provider.

Retinopathy of prematurity in Africa: a systematic review.

Purpose: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is widely regarded worldwide as a major cause of childhood blindness, however until recently the disease has not been recognized in most of the African continent. As a result of changing economic conditions, there is growing evidence that the population at risk for ROP in Africa is increasing. This report aims to summarize the published literature on ROP from Africa. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review of the English and French online literature databases by applying a general search strategy initially on May 1, 2017 with repeat inquiry on May 20, 2018. Search phrases included multiple variants of terms including "ROP", "retinopathy of prematurity", in conjunction with each of the individual 54 recognized sovereign African states. Findings: A total of 25 individual studies from six African nations were identified: South Africa (10), Egypt (7), Nigeria (4), with the nations of Sudan, Rwanda, and Kenya each having one respective study. Two countries (South Africa and Kenya) have developed national ROP policies for primary and secondary prevention. Summary: Review of the published literature suggests that ROP is emerging in Africa, however, there are published data from 6/54 (11%) African nations. Blindness from ROP is often preventable with appropriate primary and secondary prevention. This report provides compelling evidence that these efforts should be undertaken to implement and evaluate regionally appropriate ROP prevention programs in a growing number of African countries.

Retinal Telemedicine.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: An update and overview of the literature on current telemedicine applications in retina. RECENT FINDINGS: The application of telemedicine to the field of Ophthalmology and Retina has been growing with advancing technologies in ophthalmic imaging. Retinal telemedicine has been most commonly applied to diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity in adult and pediatric patients respectively. Telemedicine has the potential to alleviate the growing demand for clinical evaluation of retinal diseases. Subsequently, automated image analysis and deep learning systems may facilitate efficient processing of large, increasing numbers of images generated in telemedicine systems. Telemedicine may additionally improve access to education and standardized training through tele-education systems. SUMMARY: Telemedicine has the potential to be utilized as a useful adjunct but not a complete replacement for physical clinical examinations. Retinal telemedicine programs should be carefully and appropriately integrated into current clinical systems.

Ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography of white without pressure.

PURPOSE: To describe ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWFA) findings in eyes with white without pressure (WWOP) and in eyes without any obvious peripheral chorioretinal disease, and to determine if a difference exists between these two groups. METHODS: A retrospective review of 379 eyes undergoing diagnostic UWFA using the Optos 200Tx imaging system. Eyes were excluded if the quality of the color photograph or UWFA prevented reliable evaluation. Eyes were also excluded if there was any evidence of peripheral retinal or choroidal disease, which was thought to have an effect on UWFA (eg, peripheral background diabetic or hypertensive retinopathy, vein occlusion, or any other peripheral vascular disorder). Eyes were determined to have WWOP, based on a dilated fundus examination and color fundus photography that contained areas of peripheral retinal whitening consistent with the diagnosis. UWFA was evaluated by trained masked graders, and determined to have or not have peripheral vascular leakage and/or staining. RESULTS: Of the 379 eyes evaluated, 45 eyes were included in the study. Twelve eyes were determined to have peripheral WWOP; 33 eyes did not have WWOP on examination or color fundus photography. Three common UWFA peripheral patterns were visualized. Eyes with and without WWOP were grouped into one of three patterns. The majority of eyes without WWOP demonstrated UWFA pattern one (69.7%), while those in the WWOP group demonstrated pattern three (50%). The distribution of UWFA patterns is statistically different between those with and without WWOP (P = 0.002). In eyes without WWOP, in patients with no documented systemic microvascular disease (diabetes, hypertension), 71.4% of eyes had UWFA pattern one while 14.3% had both patterns two and three. CONCLUSION: This study is one of the first to specifically evaluate peripheral vascular leakage/staining in eyes with WWOP as well as in eyes without any obvious peripheral chorioretinal disease. We demonstrate that a significant portion of WWOP eyes exhibit peripheral findings on UWFA (pattern one) compared to eyes without WWOP. Importantly, even in eyes that are apparently unremarkable in the periphery on exam and color photography, UWFA can still show peripheral vascular abnormalities. These results warrant further investigation.

Optical coherence tomography predicts visual outcome in macula-involving rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

PURPOSE: Visual recovery after rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair depends upon various anatomical factors. We investigated spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) abnormalities, pre- and postoperatively, in patients with nontraumatic RRD and correlated these findings with visual outcome. METHODS: The medical records of all patients presenting to Weill Cornell Medical College with nontraumatic macula-involving RRD from August 2010 to September 2011 were retrospectively reviewed in this single-center, consecutive case series. All patients underwent pre- and postoperative visual acuity (VA) testing, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and dilated fundus examination. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography was obtained preoperatively in twelve patients and postoperatively in ten patients. RESULTS: Twelve patients (12 eyes) were included in the final analysis. Preoperative optical coherence tomography revealed that the inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) junction was disrupted in 10/12 eyes (83%), the external limiting membrane (ELM) was disrupted in 9/12 (75%) eyes, cystoid macular edema (CME) was present in 10/12 (83%) eyes, an epiretinal membrane (ERM) was present in 2/12 eyes (17%) and outer retinal corrugation was present in 7/12 (58%) eyes. In postoperative imaging of 10 eyes, the IS/OS junction was disrupted in 4/10 (40%), the ELM was disrupted in 3/10 (30%) eyes, CME was present in 2/10 (20%), and an ERM in 1/10 (10%). All retinas were attached postoperatively. Outer retinal corrugation was the most predictive of worse preoperative (P = 0.0016) and 1-month postoperative visual acuity (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Preoperative SD-OCT demonstrating outer retinal corrugation in macula involving RRD predicts poor visual acuity outcome in nontraumatic RRD. Such findings may have implications for the urgency for these eyes to undergo surgical repair.

23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy for management of posteriorly dislocated crystalline lens.

PURPOSE: Management of posteriorly dislocated crystalline lens has traditionally been performed with a standard 20-gauge vitrectomy system. This study demonstrates the use of a 23-gauge vitrectomy system for removal of retained lens fragments secondary to spontaneous dislocation or complicated cataract extraction. METHODS: A retrospective, noncomparative, interventional consecutive case series at a single university medical center. RESULTS: Fourteen eyes of 14 patients underwent a 23-gauge vitrectomy for removal of retained lens. Mean age was 75 years. Mean logMAR (logarithm of minimum angle of resolution) visual acuity was 1.47 (Snellen equivalent 20/600) preoperatively and 0.37 (Snellen equivalent 20/50) postoperatively. A 20-gauge fragmatome was used in 64% of cases. The mean time to the best post-vitrectomy acuity was 4.9 weeks. The mean healing time was 25 days (6-48 days). Post- vitrectomy complications included choroidal detachment (two patients), vitreous hemorrhage (two patients), and acute ocular hypertension (two patients). The mean length of follow-up was 6.2 months (1-13 months). CONCLUSION: A 23-gauge vitrectomy system alone or in combination with the 20-gauge fragmatome is a safe and efficacious option for removal of dense posteriorly dislocated crystalline lens material.