Purpose

To report a unique case of Valsalva retinopathy associated with ear popping behavior.

Observations

A 57-year-old woman with a history of well-controlled hypertension presented with episodes of seeing "spots" in her left eye for many years. Her most recent episode failed to resolve spontaneously. Fundus examination revealed scattered retinal hemorrhages in the left eye, and optical coherence tomography demonstrated sub-internal limiting membrane location of these hemorrhages. Fluorescein angiography did not reveal any vascular abnormalities. Based on these findings and an in-depth review of systems, a diagnosis of Valsalva retinopathy was made associated with patient's ear popping habit.

Conclusions and importance

Habitual ear popping can be a potential etiology of symptomatic Valsalva retinopathy. This under-appreciated association may be clinically relevant for patients with a history of suspected Eustachian tube narrowing or dysfunction.

Purpose

To describe the clinical, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and histopathological findings of a patient who was found to have ossification of a pre-retinal membrane after multiple surgical repairs for retinal detachment.

Methods

The patient had comprehensive ophthalmic examinations during seven years of follow-up and underwent surgical removal of her pre-retinal membrane.

Results

A 24-year-old woman with a history of retinal detachment and multiple retina surgeries presented with baseline vision of 20/200 and refractory glaucoma in the left eye (right eye with no light perception due to prior failed retinal detachment repair). OCT showed a thick epiretinal membrane with hypo-reflective intraretinal spaces in the macula, and exam revealed a chronic retinal detachment superotemporally surrounded by laser barricade. She was stable for six years and then experienced vision loss and decreasing eye pressure, concurrent with rapid evolution of pre-retinal fibrosis, leading to a vascularized consolidation in the mid-periphery, for which she underwent vitrectomy and membrane peel. The vascularized lesion over the area of detachment in the superotemporal retina was removed en bloc through the anterior chamber. Pathological findings revealed woven bone formation anterior to the internal limiting membrane, and the tissue was GFAP negative.

Conclusions

Our case adds to the limited knowledge of the chronology, presentation, and surgical management of intraocular ossification, especially of the rarer pre-retinal type. Our patient highlights that development of ossification can happen more quickly than previously thought (year or years rather than decades), can be hidden under vascularized lesions, and is dynamic, with simultaneous release of traction in one area and increased traction in another. Diligent follow-up is indicated even in cases of vitreous membranes from retinal detachment that otherwise appear to have been stable for years.

Purpose

To evaluate outcomes in patients with hypotony treated with intravitreal dexamethasone implant (Ozurdex).

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Participants

Thirteen patients (15 eyes) that received a total of 99 dexamethasone implant injections on occasions at which the intraocular pressure was low, meeting the definition of statistical hypotony.

Methods

The medical records of 13 patients (15 consecutive eyes) receiving 1 or more intravitreal dexamethasone implants between December 2014 and April 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. Hypotony was defined as intraocular pressure less than 6.5 mmHg. The indications for intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection were intermediate or posterior uveitis (86.7%), diabetic macular edema (13.3%), and/or cystoid macular edema (6.7%).

Main outcome measures

The primary outcome measures were safety outcomes and best visual acuity within 6 months of the final intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection in a hypotonous eye.

Results

In 15 eyes (13 patients), 99 injections were administered to eyes under circumstances of hypotony. Uveitic cystoid macular edema or diabetic macular edema was reduced after treatment in all cases. No complications were noted during the injection procedure. Three complications were noted in 2 patients after injection. Pseudophakodonesis and mild vitreous hemorrhage immediately after injection were noted in 1 patient, and a case of delayed-onset vitreous hemorrhage with pigment release was noted in another. All 3 complications resolved without intervention. The primary end point of this study-mean visual acuity-was stable over the follow-up period. In patients with hypotony whose intraocular pressure normalized during the follow-up period, this was attributable to management of glaucoma surgery-related complications rather than an effect of the intravitreal dexamethasone implant.

Conclusions

Intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection is a reasonable treatment option for patients with comorbid hypotony in whom clinical findings warrant treatment with a sustained-delivery intravitreal steroid implant. Further studies, including imaging of zonules before and after intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection in a hypotonous eye, could help define risks to intraocular lens stability with this procedure.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have validated ultra-widefield imaging as a remote screening tool for diabetic retinopathy. The aim of this study was to determine its use in screening for any fundus pathology in a routine patient population. METHODS: In this prospective randomized study, patients underwent both slit lamp indirect ophthalmoscopy and ultra-widefield imaging. Ultra-widefield images were independently reviewed by two optometrists, and discrepancies were adjudicated by a retina specialist. Clinical findings from slit-lamp examiners and image-reviewers were coded into themes and clinically meaningful findings were extracted. Cohens kappa was used to estimate agreement for these findings between the two image-reviewers and between the image-reviewers and slit-lamp examiners. RESULTS: Nine-hundred eyes of 450 patients were examined and imaged, of which 616 eyes were analyzed. At least one abnormal fundus finding was present on ophthalmoscopy in 71 eyes (11%) and on adjudicated image interpretation in 166 eyes (27%). Agreement between the two image-reviewers was moderate to substantial for most clinically meaningful findings, including optic disc hemorrhage (κ = 0.8), macular exudates (κ = 0.7), and macular pigmentary changes (κ = 0.7). Agreement between examiners and image-reviewers was moderate to substantial for optic disc hemorrhage (κ = 1), indistinct optic disc margins (κ = 0.5), drusen (κ = 0.4), pigmentary changes (κ = 0.4), and hemorrhage (κ = 0.8). A total of 187 findings were detected by imaging but not examination, compared with 42 that were detected on examination but not imaging. CONCLUSION: In a routine patient population, ultra-widefield imaging agreed with standard-of-care slit-lamp examinations and detected more fundus findings.

Purpose

To describe a case series of combined Boston Type 1 Keratoprosthesis with pars plana vitrectomy, silicone oil placement, and fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal 0.59 mg implant (RETISERT®), and report its safety and efficacy in preventing phthisis bulbi in patients with uveitis-associated hypotony and concurrent corneal edema.

Findings

A retrospective review of patients with chronic uveitis, corneal decompensation and concurrent hypotony who underwent the combined approach described here between 2015 and 2020 was conducted. Three patients were treated using the combined approach. Post-operative recovery was unremarkable in all cases and the patients' corneal condition remained stable on follow up. No patient developed phthisis, retroprosthetic membrane, or infectious endophthalmitis. Average intraocular pressure one year after intervention was 2.7 to 6.4 mmHg higher compared to a year prior.

Conclusions

The approach described is potentially safe and effective in preventing phthisis and membrane formation in uveitis-associated hypotony and keratopathy.

Purpose

To estimate and compare the costs of scleral buckle (SB) and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).

Design

Cost analysis based on published prospective data comparing SB and PPV for RRD repair.

Methods

The costs of initial surgery, postoperative retina-affecting procedures, and eventual cataract extraction resulting from SB and PPV for RRD repair were estimated for both phakic and pseudophakic or aphakic patients and then were compared. A univariate sensitivity analysis also was performed to examine the sensitivity of our estimations.

Results

When considering all costs, SB was 10.7% less expensive than PPV for RRD repair in phakic patients, whereas PPV was 12% less expensive than SB for RRD repair in pseudophakic or aphakic patients. These conclusions were robust in the sensitivity analysis.

Conclusions

SB seems to offer a modest cost savings over PPV for repair of RRD in phakic patients. However, in pseudophakic and aphakic patients, PPV seems to be less expensive than SB.

Purpose

To describe a modified technique of haptic externalization for trocar-based sutureless scleral fixation of intraocular lenses, in order to avoid working with forceps in the iris plane in a manner that may be unfamiliar to the vitreoretinal surgeon.

Methods

This prospective, interventional case series included four eyes of four patients with dislocated intraocular lens (IOL). The modified haptic externalization technique avoids the pitfalls of iris-plane maneuvers by intentionally dropping the IOL onto the retina and using the forceps to grasp the tips of the haptics prior to direct externalization from the same grab.

Results

Four patients underwent scleral fixation of IOL using modified haptic externalization technique. One patient was lost to follow up after postoperative day 1. At the last follow up, all eyes demonstrated stability and good centration of scleral fixated IOL. All three patients achieved a best corrected visual acuity same or better compared to before the operation. One patient developed vitreous hemorrhage which later spontaneously resolved.

Conclusions

The modified haptic externalization technique is a simple and quick modification using maneuvers familiar to vitreoretinal surgeons. It has demonstrated safety among a small pilot group of patients.

In this retrospective comparative case series at a teaching hospital, we reviewed adult patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment who underwent scleral buckling surgery with external drainage of subretinal fluid performed before versus after placement of the scleral buckle. Eight eyes in each group were roughly matched for age, sex, baseline visual acuity (VA), and detachment characteristics. The complication rate was 0% for the "before" group and 37% for the "after" group (p = 0.100). In the "after" group, two eyes (25%) developed iatrogenic retinal holes and one eye (12%) developed self-limited subretinal hemorrhage during external needle drainage. The duration of surgery was significantly shorter for the "before" group (mean 89 ± 16 min) compared to the "after" group (118 ± 20 min) (p = 0.008). The primary anatomic success rate was 100% for the "before" group and 75% for the "after" group (p = 0.233). Final VA was not significantly different between the groups or from baseline. In conclusion, while limited by our small sample size, this pilot study suggests that drainage of subretinal fluid before scleral buckle placement may be safer and more efficient compared to draining after buckle placement. Initial drainage may facilitate retinochoroid apposition to allow targeted cryopexy and precise buckle placement.

In a cross-sectional retrospective study of 3120 diabetic patients aged ≥ 60 years, those taking metformin were less likely to have age-related macular degeneration compared with those not taking the drug (OR 0.70, 95%CI 0.55-0.88).

This study sought to assess the association between axial length (AL) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a diverse cohort of patients and to investigate the impact of sex on this relationship. An urban safety net hospital database was used for this cross-sectional observational study. Diabetic patients who underwent fundus photography and AL measurement between March 2017 and June 2020 were included. The fundus photographs were graded following the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study criteria. The study enrolled 1843 patients with diabetes (mean age: 56.9 ± 12.1 years; AL: 23.56 ± 1.12 mm), including 931 men and 912 women. Male sex was a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy (P = 0.001; odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-1.98). A higher DR prevalence was associated with shorter AL both in men (P = 0.003; OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.66-0.91) and women (P = 0.02; OR 0.83; 95% CI 0.71-0.97) after adjusting for systemic risk factors using multivariable logistic regression. There was no significant impact of sex on the relationship between AL and DR (P = 0.56). In the subset of patients with asymmetric DR, the percentage of patients whose shorter eye had a higher stage of DR was not significantly different between men and women (P = 0.20). Male sex is a risk factor for DR in a diverse safety-net hospital population. Longer AL is associated with a lower risk of DR, and this relationship is not affected by sex.