Spider keratouveitis. A case report.

PURPOSE: To present a case report on a patient with keratouveitis after exposure to a tarantula. MATERIAL: A 15-year-old boy presented with ocular redness and discomfort after his pet tarantula (Chilean Rose) had walked over his face. METHODS: Clinical examination revealed inflammatory reactions in the corneas and the anterior chamber. After nine months, two subepithelial infiltrates of the cornea emerged, surrounding tarantula hairs of the stroma. The hairs were removed. RESULTS: Topical steroids relieved the symptoms, but ten months after exposure there was still a mild reaction in the anterior chamber of the right eye. CONCLUSION: Hairs from pet tarantulas might penetrate deeply into the eye and give keratouveitis. The hairs might be difficult to detect. Though rare, this phenomenon should be known by both ophthalmologists and the public.

Toxicity of vancomycin on corneal endothelium in rabbits.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the toxic effect of vancomycin on the corneal endothelium related to concentrations of vancomycin. METHODS: The toxic effect is assessed with a weighing method that gives a measure of endothelial function. Thirty-three rabbit corneas were divided into four groups. Three groups of seven corneas each were exposed to concentrations of 1.0 mg/ml, 3.0 mg/ml and 5.0 mg/ml vancomycin, respectively. The fourth group of twelve corneas served as a control group. RESULTS: The corneas exposed to 1.0 mg/ml vancomycin showed no significant weight increase, while the corneas exposed to 3.0 mg/ml and 5.0 mg/ml showed a significant weight increase as compared to the control corneas. The weight increase was significantly larger in the group of corneas exposed to 5.0 mg/ml as compared to 3.0 mg/ml. CONCLUSIONS: In the interval of tested concentrations there is a dose response relationship between vancomycin concentrations and endothelial toxicity. This experiment shows that vancomycin in the concentration of 1.0 mg/ml is non-toxic to the endothelium, while 3.0 mg/ml and 5.0 mg/ml increasingly impair endothelial function.

Back to front AC IOL implantation combined with penetrating keratoplasty.

In this retrospective study a simple modification of implanting an intraocular lens into the anterior chamber during penetrating keratoplasty is presented. In 14 patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty after cataract extraction, the intraocular lens was placed back to front in the anterior chamber so that the haptic was angled anteriorly. Postoperative follow-up was 18 months on the average. There was significant improvement in vision. All 9 patients with painful bullous keratopathy were relieved of their pain. One case of mild, transient uveitis and glaucoma and two dilated pupils were seen postoperatively. No major complications have been observed so far. This study suggests that this simple method, in some cases, might be favourable when implanting an intraocular lens during penetrating keratoplasty, in the absence of capsular support.

An intraocular paraganglioma?

A tumour of the iris with the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of a paraganglioma is presented. Neither this type of tumour, nor the specialized nerve cells giving rise to the tumour, have previously been reported in the eye. A successful local resection was performed. The diagnosis and concept of paragangliomas are discussed briefly.