Investigating the presence of peer bias against ptosis in young children.

PURPOSE: To investigate the presence of peer bias directed at young children aged 3-6 years of age and the age at which this bias emerges. METHODS: Children (3-6 years) completed an individual testing session involving two tasks: (1) a paired photograph task examined the effect of the appearance of ptosis on children's preferences in two different social situations (toy sharing and birthday party); (2) a ranking task investigated whether different grades of ptosis are evaluated differently by children of different ages. RESULTS: A total of 217 children were included. The paired photograph task showed that with increasing age, subjects were less likely to invite children with ptosis to share a toy or attend their birthday party. Three-year-olds did not show a bias against peers with ptosis; however, 4- to 6-year-olds did chose significantly fewer children with an apparent ptosis across both social situations. The ranking task highlighted that 6-year-olds viewed a grade 3 ptosis significantly more negatively than 3- and 4-year-olds; however, there was no effect of age on the rankings given to other grades of ptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Bias against ptosis emerges at about 4 years of age and is still evident at 6 years.

The management of periorbital nodular fasciitis using intra-lesional triamcinolone: a case report and review of the literature.

Nodular fasciitis (NF) is a subcutaneous, nodular, pseudo-sarcomatous, fibroblastic proliferation. It is rarely reported in the periorbital region and the management approach is variable.Presented is an eight-year-old female with a three month history of a periorbital mass. Incisional biopsy histologically confirmed nodular fasciitis with a unique gene translocation. The lesion was treated primarily with one intra-lesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide. Four months post-injection, the lesion resolved completely. No recurrence was seen at 12-months follow-up post-injection. No side effects were noted.To our knowledge. this is the first reported use of intra-lesional triamcinolone acetonide as a first-line treatment in periorbital NF. We found this to be a safe and effective treatment, which can obviate the need for surgical excision in a cosmetically sensitive region.

Möbius syndrome associated with obesity and precocious puberty.

Möbius syndrome is a neurological disorder involving underdevelopment of the sixth and seventh cranial nerves. Multiple associations have been described including dysfunction of other cranial nerves, limb abnormalities and hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism causing delayed puberty. We present the second reported case of Möbius syndrome associated with obesity and with precocious puberty. These features may be secondary to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. We highlight the need to consider extraocular symptoms in these patients and for close liaison with physicians in their management.

Sensory function in severe semilobar holoprosencephaly.

We report a 4-year-old child with severe semi-lobar holoprosencephaly (HPE) not expected to survive after birth. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed agenesis of the corpus callosum, absence of the third ventricle, fused thalami and basal ganglia. To investigate sensory function, visual, auditory and somatosensory evoked potential and imaging studies were carried out. The visual response evoked by human face stimuli evoked larger responses over the left side of the holosphere as compared to responses evoked by checkerboard pattern, while auditory evoked potentials were evident over the frontal regions to both pure tones and speech stimuli. No consistent scalp somatosensory evoked potentials were evident. This case demonstrates that electrophysiological measures are able to identify and quantify sensory processing not expected to be present based on the anatomical presentation of the cortex in a child with severe HPE.

Same-day versus first-day review of intraocular pressure after uneventful phacoemulsification.

PURPOSE: To compare the incidence and the spectrum of postoperative complications detected when the intraocular pressure (IOP) is reviewed 4 to 6 hours or the day after uneventful phacoemulsification cataract extraction and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. SETTING: Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom. METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 141 patients who had uneventful phacoemulsification and IOL implantation under regional (peribulbar/topical) or general anesthesia. Postoperative evaluation of the patients was performed by an ophthalmologist using a standard form at 4 to 6 hours or 24 hours. RESULTS: The mean IOP at 4 to 6 hours and 24 hours was 22.85 mm Hg +/- 9.56 (SD) and 19.44 +/- 7.04 mm Hg, respectively. The IOP was more likely to be greater than 30 mm Hg when measured on the same day, resulting in a significantly higher intervention rate than on the first day (P =.037). The best corrected visual acuity was significantly better at 24 hours than at the same-day review (P <.001). There was no significant difference in the extent of anterior chamber activity, patient comfort, or state of the wound between the same- or next-day follow-up. All patients attended a follow-up appointment 3 weeks after surgery, had an IOP of 21 mm Hg or less, and were subsequently discharged. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that moderate IOP spikes (<40 mm Hg) can be left untreated if they are not associated with corneal edema or patient discomfort as they decline spontaneously. Before they are discharged, patients with compromised optic discs or predisposed to retinal or optic nerve pathology should be carefully evaluated the day after surgery to treat IOP elevations.