Symblepharon formation in epidemic keratoconjunctivitis.

Two case reports are presented in which patients with epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) develop symblepharon during the course of their infection. This report is the initial documentation of symblepharon formation in EKC and the first reported episode of conjunctival membrane formation in association with adenovirus type 2.

Human infectious corneal ulcer caused by Pythium insidiosum.

Pythium insidiosum is a fungus-like organism known to infect a variety of animals. In humans, the few known cases involving Pythium have included arterial infections and cellulitis. We present what we believe to be the first case of P. insidiosum recovered from a human corneal ulcer. The organism is difficult to isolate, causing delays in diagnosis. It is also resistant to the usual antifungal medications, making surgical excision the treatment of choice.

Bullous keratopathy accompanying essential iris atrophy: response to lowered intraocular pressure.

We present a patient with essential iris atrophy who was normotensive and yet had corneal edema and bullous keratopathy which cleared upon lowering the intraocular pressure. It is proposed that in this patient the endothelial functional status was so compromised that it could not handle the amount of fluid driven into the cornea by a normal intraocular pressure. A more favorable balance between intraocular pressure and endothelial functional status was obtained by lowering the intraocular pressure with acetazolamide and timolol.

The lupus anticoagulant and retinal vaso-occlusive disease.

A patient with a history of hypertension had a combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion in one eye. She had markedly elevated coagulation profiles, especially the partial thromboplastin time, secondary to circulating lupus anticoagulant. Due to the asymmetric involvement, the presence of the anticoagulant, and the lack of any other signs of retinopathy, we believed that the etiology was thrombotic rather than vasculitic. Detection and measurement of the lupus anticoagulant could serve as a marker of disease and in the assessment of disease activity in the follow-up of these patients.

Conjunctival flaps.

PURPOSE: The authors reviewed their experience with total conjunctival flaps (TCF) and partial conjunctival flaps (PCF) for the past 5 years in 61 patients. METHODS: Forty-eight patients had TCF and 13 had PCF. Diagnoses for surgery included severe bullous keratopathy for chronic graft failure (not candidates for keratoplasty) (19), herpes zoster ophthalmicus (7), chronic ulcerative keratitis (14), neurotrophic keratitis (2), and herpes simplex keratitis (9). RESULTS: There were seven complications. Four flap retractions occurred in the TCF group, requiring resuturing in two. Three complications occurred in the PCF group. One patient had two flap retractions and recurrent ulceration, requiring tarsorrhaphy. One patient with PCF suffered a perforation after flap retraction, necessitating penetrating keratoplasty. CONCLUSION: The authors believe conjunctival flaps are underused and should be considered seriously for bullous keratopathy, neurotrophic keratitis, recalcitrant keratitis, and persistent nonhealing epithelial defects.

Visually debilitating pterygium: surgical and contact lens treatment.

PURPOSE: We present the management of a patient with large pterygia complicated by irregular astigmatism and corneal opacities. Visual rehabilitation required both surgical excision and contact lens fitting. METHODS: We examined a 30-year-old man with hand motion vision from a large pterygium overgrowing his right cornea. Histopathology was consistent with pterygium. During the first few postoperative weeks, his uncorrected visual acuity improved to 20/60, and manifest refraction yielded no further improvement. In the subsequent months, there were increasing anterior stromal corneal opacities, and the refraction became hyperopic to a variable degree. RESULTS: Best corrected visual acuity was 20/70-20/100. Axial length was 22.64 +/- 0.07 mm. Computerized corneal topography 6 months postoperative was similar to the preoperative topography and revealed irregular and asymmetric astigmatism, with marked variation of the central corneal dioptric power. Slit lamp biomicroscopy suggested that the corneal opacities were responsible for the patient's decreased acuity; however, contact lens fitting provided 20/30 vision with a rigid gas permeable contact lens. CONCLUSIONS: The improved vision with contact lens therapy strongly suggested that the irregular and asymmetric astigmatism were more visually significant than the corneal opacities.