De Novo Extra-Thyroidal Manifestations of Graves' Disease presenting 16 Years after Total Thyroidectomy for Thyroid Cancer.

We present a 61-year-old Chinese female who had a history of angioinvasive follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) treated with total thyroidectomy 16 years ago, without radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment who now presents with de novo pretibial myxedema (PTM) followed by active severe Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) requiring pulse steroids and radiotherapy.

Orbital Schwannoma-Management and Clinical Outcomes.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical features, management, and outcomes of orbital schwannomas. METHODS: Retrospective study analyzing 20 orbital schwannomas in 18 patients managed in an orbital service over 26 years. Clinical, radiological, histological, and surgical procedural data were analyzed. RESULTS: Mean age of the study population was 40.89 ± 20.84 years. The most common nerve of origin was frontal nerve (50%), and majority of patients (70%) had a superior and/or posteriorly located tumor. Five patients (27.8%) had optic neuropathy at presentation, and 3 of them showed improved vision after intervention. Surgical resection was performed for all except for 1 patient who underwent fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy. Six subjects had extension of tumor into the cavernous sinus, and 3 of them underwent combined neurosurgical intervention with stereotactic neuronavigation. Outcomes were largely favorable with majority achieving complete excision. Two out of 6 incomplete resections experienced regrowth requiring second surgical intervention. Surgical complications include decreased vision, diplopia, ptosis, and mydriasis. CONCLUSION: Orbital schwannomas are uncommon slow-growing tumors which can result in visual loss. Prognosis can be favorable even in presence of pre-operative optic neuropathy if there is early intervention. Schwannomas confined to the orbit can usually be completely excised with good outcomes. Schwannomas extending intra-cranially may undergo incomplete excision to preserve vital structures, leaving residual disease, but generally have satisfactory results. Stereotactic neuronavigation and frozen section are useful intra-operative tool to aid management and minimize complications. Fractionated radiotherapy can be considered as an alternative or adjunctive treatment for patients not amenable for surgical resections.

Methotrexate as an Adjuvant in Severe Thyroid Eye Disease: Does It Really Work as a Steroid-Sparing Agent?

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of adjunctive oral methotrexate with intravenous pulsed methylprednisolone against methylprednisolone alone in the treatment of severe thyroid eye disease. METHODS: Retrospective review of clinical data of patients with severe sight-threatening thyroid eye disease with compressive optic neuropathy treated with methylprednisolone with and without methotrexate. Eye disease outcome measures (e.g., VISA inflammatory score and vision) at 0, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months were recorded. RESULTS: There were 72 subjects including 33 who had methylprednisolone alone and 39 with methylprednisolone with methotrexate. There were no statistical differences in demographics and baseline measures of disease activity or vision between the 2 treatment groups. No significant statistical differences in the cumulative dosage of methylprednisolone or occurrence of restrictive myopathy, raised intraocular pressure, proptosis, and exposure keratopathy between the groups at 0, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months were found. However, subjects who received methylprednisolone with methotrexate had better visual acuity of more than 2 lines on Snellen chart (p = 0.026) and VISA inflammatory score (p = 0.034) at 3 months, but no differences at 6, 12, and 18 months. Three patients who received methylprednisolone with methotrexate had transient worsening of liver function. No patient developed severe adverse reaction. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated improved vision and disease activity at 3 months in the combination treatment group. This may suggest that the addition of methotrexate to methylprednisolone is beneficial for accelerating suppression of disease activity and hastens visual recovery. Addition of methotrexate to methylprednisolone did not reduce the requirement for steroids.

Cost Minimization Analysis of Precut Cornea Grafts in Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) is the most common corneal transplant procedure. A key step in the procedure is preparing the donor cornea for transplantation. This can be accomplished via 1 of 3 alternatives: surgeon cuts the cornea on the day of surgery, the cornea is precut ahead of time in an offsite facility by a trained technician, or a precut cornea is purchased from an eye bank. Currently, there is little evidence on the costs and effectiveness of these 3 strategies to allow healthcare providers decide upon the preferred method to prepare grafts.The aim of this study was to compare the costs and relative effectiveness of each strategy.The Singapore National Eye Centre and Singapore Eye Bank performed both precut cornea and surgeon-cut cornea transplant services between 2009 and 2013.This study included 110 subjects who received precut cornea and 140 who received surgeon-cut cornea. Clinical outcomes and surgical duration were compared across the strategies using the propensity score matching. The cost of each strategy was estimated using the microcosting and consisted of facility costs and procedural costs including surgical duration. One-way sensitivity analysis and threshold analysis were performed.The cost for DSAEK was highest for the surgeon-cut approach ($13,965 per procedure), followed by purchasing precut corneas ($12,659) and then setting up precutting ($12,421). The higher procedural cost of the surgeon-cut approach was largely due to the longer duration of the procedure (surgeon-cut = 72.54 minutes, precut = 59.45 minutes, P < 0.001) and the higher surgeon fees. There was no evidence of differences in clinical outcomes between grafts that were precut or surgeon-cut. Threshold analysis demonstrated that if the number of cases was below 31 a year, the strategy that yielded the lowest cost was purchasing precut cornea from eye bank. If there were more than 290 cases annually, the cheapest option would be to setup precutting facility.Our findings suggest that it is more efficient for centers that are performing a large number of cornea transplants (more than 290 cases) to set up their own facility to conduct precutting.

Safety Profile and Effects of Pulsed Methylprednisolone on Vital Signs in Thyroid Eye Disease.

Objective. To analyze changes in vital signs (heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) during and after intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) and any other adverse effects. Methods. Retrospective review of charts of patients who received IVMP as treatment regime for thyroid eye disease. All subjects had vital signs charted during and after infusions. Results. This study included 38 subjects and a total of 242 infusions administered. IVMP resulted in a small but significant percentage drop in mean SBP at 30 min (p < 0.001) and 60 min (p = 0.03) but no difference at 90 min. There was also small but significant percentage drop in mean DBP and HR (DBP: p < 0.001 for 30 min, p = 0.001 for 60 min, and p = 0.02 for 90 min and HR: p < 0.001 for 30 min, 60 min, and 90 min). There were no cumulative effects on change of blood pressure or HR. There were 6 episodes of bradycardia (2.5%) and 12 episodes of moderate to severe hypertension (5%). No significant cardiovascular or hepatic toxicity was found. Conclusion. IVMP is relatively safe and efficacious. IVMP demonstrated mild and noncumulative effects on vital signs. Severe hypertension may occur in susceptible individuals such as those with underlying hypertension and uncontrolled thyroid dysfunction, whereas bradycardia may be more likely in those on beta-blockers.

"Walk the Rim, Feel the Bone" Technique in Superior Sulcus Filling.

Superior sulcus filler injection is a nonsurgical method to rejuvenate the upper face. Blindness and stroke are devastating complications of facial filler injection. This study describes an injection technique that minimizes the risk of blindness and includes a case study demonstrating the cosmetic benefits of this procedure. To avoid retrograde injection of filler embolus into the ophthalmic artery, we advocate a "'walk the rim, feel the bone" approach. Small boluses of hyaluronic acid filler are given in preperiosteal plane, avoiding the superior orbital foramen.

Myopia in asian subjects with primary angle closure: implications for glaucoma trends in East Asia.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the occurrence of myopia in Asian subjects with angle closure and to assess the ocular biometric parameters in these subjects. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: We prospectively recruited 427 angle-closure subjects (143 primary angle-closure suspects, 75 patients with primary angle closure, 165 patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma, and 44 patients with acute primary angle closure) from a Singapore hospital. METHODS: Refractive status was derived from the spherical equivalent of autorefraction. A-scan biometry (Nidek Echoscan Ultrasound US-800; Nidek Co., Tokyo, Japan) was performed to obtain anterior chamber depth (ACD), axial length (AL), lens thickness, and vitreous cavity length (VL). Anterior segment optical coherence tomography was performed to measure lens vault. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Refractive status was categorized as myopia (≤-0.50 diopter [D]), emmetropia (-0.50 to +0.50 D), and hyperopia (≥+0.50 D). RESULTS: The mean age ± standard deviation of study subjects was 65.6 ± 7.6 years, with most being Chinese (n = 394; 92.3%) and women (n = 275; 64.4%). Overall, myopia was present in 94 subjects (22%), hyperopia was present in 222 subjects (52%), and emmetropia was present in 111 subjects (26%). Of the 94 myopic angle-closure patients, 28 (29.8%) were categorized as having moderate myopia (≤-2.0 to -5.0 D) and 11 (11.7%) were categorized as having high myopia (≤-5.00 D). Although myopic angle-closure subjects had longer ALs (P<0.001) and VLs (P = 0.001) than their emmetropic and hyperopic counterparts, there were no significant differences in ACD (P = 0.77), lens thickness (P = 0.44), or lens vault (P = 0.053). CONCLUSIONS: Almost one quarter of angle-closure patients were myopic. Myopic angle-closure subjects had longer VLs and ALs, but there was no difference in ACD. With the increasing rate of myopia in many East Asian populations, there may be many subjects with axial myopia but shallow ACD and angle closure. The implication is that ophthalmologists should not assume that glaucoma patients who are myopic have open angles.