Paracentral acute middle maculopathy after uneventful ocular surgery with local anaesthetic blocks

OBJECTIVE: To describe the role of local anaesthetic blocks as a potential cause of paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) after uneventful ocular surgery. METHODS: Retrospective, observational, international, multicentre case series. Nine cases of PAMM with associated visual loss following uneventful ocular surgery with local anaesthetic blocks were observed in a 9-year period (2011-2020). Demographic, ocular and systemic data, anaesthetic data and surgical details were collected. Visual acuity (VA), fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images were reviewed. RESULTS: All nine cases were associated with decreased VA at 24 h postoperative check (ranging from hand movement to 20/200). A hyperreflective band within the middle retinal layers was observed in the structural OCT in the acute phase, evolving to thinning and atrophy of the inner retinal layers in sequential follow-up scans performed. Fluorescein angiography showed delayed perfusion in early arterial phase with normal perfusion in late venous phases. OCTA showed decreased perfusion in the deep capillary plexus. Visual recovery was variable between cases during follow-up (ranging from count fingers to 20/20). CONCLUSIONS: A combination of a vasoconstrictive effect of the anaesthetic agent, an intraocular pressure spike and a mechanical effect of the volume of anaesthetic injected may result in decreased retinal artery perfusion and be evidenced as PAMM in OCT scans. PAMM may present as a potential complication of local anaesthetic blocks in cases of unexpected visual loss after uneventful ocular surgery

Graves’ ophthalmopathy: Visa versus Eugogo classification, assessment, and management

Graves’ ophthalmopathy (Go) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder associated with thyroid disease which affects ocular and orbital tissues. Go follows a biphasic course in which an initial active phase of progression is followed by a subsequent partial regression and a static inactive phase. Although the majority of GO patients have a mild, self-limiting, and nonprogressive ocular involvement, about 3–7% of GO patients exhibit a severe sight-threatening form of the disease due to corneal exposure or compressive optic neuropathy. An appropriate assessment of both severity and activity of the disease warrants an adequate treatment. The VISA (vision, inflammation, strabismus, and appearance), and the European Group of Graves’ Orbitopathy (EUGOGO) classifications are the two widely used grading systems conceived to assess the activity and severity of GO and guide the therapeutic decision making. A critical analysis of classification, assessment, and management systems is reported. A simplified “GO activity assessment checklist” for routine clinical practice is proposed. Current treatments are reviewed and management guidelines according to the severity and activity of the disease are provided. New treatment modalities such as specific monoclonal antibodies, TSH-R antagonists, and other immunomodulatory agents show a promising outcome for GO patients

Evaluation of macular retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness after vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic macular holes

Purpose. To evaluate macular retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness changes after Brilliant Blue G-assisted internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic macular hole repair using a high-resolution spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods. 32 eyes from 32 patients with idiopathic macular holes who underwent vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling between January 2011 and July 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. GCIPL thickness was measured before surgery, and at one month and at six months after surgery. Values obtained from automated and semimanual SD-OCT segmentation analysis were compared (Cirrus HD-OCT, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). Results. No significant differences were found between average GCIPL thickness values between preoperative and postoperative analysis. However, statistical significant differences were found in GCIPL thickness at the temporal macular quadrants at six months after surgery. Quality measurement analysis performed by automated segmentation revealed a significant number of segmentation errors. Semimanual segmentation slightly improved the quality of the results. Conclusion. SD-OCT analysis of GCIPL thickness found a significant reduction at the temporal macular quadrants at 6 months after Brilliant Blue G-assisted internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic macular hole

Evaluation of macular retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness after vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic macular holes

Purpose. To evaluate macular retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness changes after Brilliant Blue G-assisted internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic macular hole repair using a high-resolution spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods. 32 eyes from 32 patients with idiopathic macular holes who underwent vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling between January 2011 and July 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. GCIPL thickness was measured before surgery, and at one month and at six months after surgery. Values obtained from automated and semimanual SD-OCT segmentation analysis were compared (Cirrus HD-OCT, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). Results. No significant differences were found between average GCIPL thickness values between preoperative and postoperative analysis. However, statistical significant differences were found in GCIPL thickness at the temporal macular quadrants at six months after surgery. Quality measurement analysis performed by automated segmentation revealed a significant number of segmentation errors. Semimanual segmentation slightly improved the quality of the results. Conclusion. SD-OCT analysis of GCIPL thickness found a significant reduction at the temporal macular quadrants at 6 months after Brilliant Blue G-assisted internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic macular hole

Evaluation of 10 AMD Associated Polymorphisms as a Cause of Choroidal Neovascularization in Highly Myopic Eyes

<div><p>Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) commonly occurs in age related macular degeneration and pathological myopia patients. In this study we conducted a case-control prospective study including 431 participants. The aim of this study was to determine the potential association between 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in 4 different genetic regions (<i>CFI</i>, <i>COL8A1</i>, <i>LIPC</i>, and <i>APOE)</i>, and choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration and the development of choroidal neovascularization in highly myopic eyes of a Caucasian population. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex and hypertension was performed for each allele, genotype and haplotype frequency analysis. We found that in the univariate analysis that both single-nucleotide polymorphisms in <i>COL8A1</i> gene (rs13095226 and rs669676) together with age, sex and hypertension were significantly associated with myopic CNV development in Spanish patients (p<0.05). After correcting for multiple testing none of the polymorphisms studied remained significantly associated with myopic CNV (p>0.05); however, analysis of the axial length between genotypes of rs13095226 revealed an important influence of COL8A1 in the development of CNV in high myopia. Furthermore we conducted a meta-analysis of <i>COL8A1</i>, <i>CFI</i> and <i>LIPC</i> genes SNPs (rs669676, rs10033900 and rs10468017) and found that only rs669676 of these SNPs were associated with high myopia neovascularization.</p></div