Rise in intraocular pressure with elevator travel in post-vitrectomy patients.

To evaluate the impact of elevator travel on intraocular pressure after vitreoretinal surgery with gas tamponade. Patients undergoing pars plana vitreoretinal surgery with and without gas insertion were recruited on post-operative day 1. All intraocular pressures were measured three times by Tono-Pen AVIA (Reichert, USA) on the fourth floor and, after rapid ascent in an elevator, on the 12th floor of the hospital. All patients were observed and asked for any symptoms of pain or nausea for at least 15 min. In this study, 54 patients were recruited. Twenty-seven patients underwent vitreoretinal procedures with gas insertion, while 27 patients without gas insertion acted as controls. The mean age of patients was 60.9 years. The mean changes in intraocular pressure of the patients with gas insertion (+ 1.39 mmHg) were greater than those without gas insertion (- 0.43 mmHg) and statistically significantly different (95% CI 1.17-2.48, P < 0.0001). Patients undergoing vitreoretinal surgery with gas insertion had statistically significant intraocular pressure rise even with 8-floor ascent in the immediate post-operative period. Further studies are needed to evaluate the change in intraocular pressure with a larger range of altitudes and different gases.

Combined conjunctival rotational autograft with 0.02% mitomycin C in primary pterygium surgery: a long-term follow-up study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To compare the long-term outcomes of primary pterygium surgery with combined conjunctival rotational autograft and mitomycin C (CRA-MMC), mitomycin C alone (MMC) and limbal conjunctival autograft (LCAU). METHODS: The outcomes of primary pterygium excision followed by conjunctival rotational autograft (CRA) combined with intraoperative 0.02% MMC for 5 min (group 1, CRA-MMC, n=61) were compared with historical control groups consisting of, pterygium excision with MMC (group 2, n=47), and, pterygium excision with limbal conjunctival autograft (LCAU) (group 3, n=29). The main outcome measures were recurrence rate and complications. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 101±3 months, 138±2 and 137±2 months in the CRA-MMC, MMC and LCAU groups respectively. Recurrence was noted in one patient (1.6%) in the CRA-MMC, 12 patients with MMC (25.5%) and 2 patients with LCAU (6.9%). The difference in recurrence rate between CRA-MMC and MMC was statistically significant (p<0.001). Early postoperative complications included 3 conjunctival cysts (1 from the CRA-MMC, 2 with MMC alone), 2 symblephara (1 in the MMC group, 1 in the LCAU group), and 1 granuloma in the CRA-MMC group. CONCLUSIONS: Pterygium excision followed by CRA-MMC or LCAU are effective means of preventing recurrence. The use of CRA-MMC in pterygium excision may be considered for cases where conventional autograft harvesting is contraindicated or when large grafts for double-head pterygium are required.

Surgical treatment for liver cancer.

Primary liver cancer is amongst the commonest tumors worldwide, particularly in parts of the developing world, and is increasing in incidence. Over the past three decades, surgical hepatic resection has evolved from a high risk, resource intensive procedure with limited application, to a safe and commonly performed operation with a range of indications. This article reviews the approach to surgical resection for malignancies such as hepatocellular cancer, metastatic liver deposits and neuroendocrine tumors. Survival data after resection is also reviewed, as well as indications for curative resection.