Blepharoplasty: Radiosurgery versus Conventional Surgery

Cilj ove studije bio je istražiti učinkovitost monopolarne radiokirurške tehnike kod operacije blefaroplastike. Radilo se o prospektivnom istraživanju gdje su operirane gornje vjeđe 28 bolesnika. Bolesnici su podvrgnuti jednoj operaciji, jedna vjeđa je operirana monopolarnom raiokirurškom tehnikom, dok je druga operirana klasičnom kirurškom metodom, a zatim su bolesnici praćeni u seriji do 6 mjeseci. Operater i liječnik koji nije znao koja je strana operirana određenom tehnikom ocjenjivali su kvalitetu ožiljka. Većina bolesnika imala je do trećeg mjeseca praćenja nešto bolji izgled ožiljka na strani operiranoj radiokirurškom tehnikom, ali ta razika nije bila znatna. Nisu zabilježene veće komplikacije. Gornje vjeđe mogu se sigurno operirati monopolarnom radiokirurškom tehnikom. Uz primjenu radiokirurške tehnologije cijeljenje je jednako ili nešto bolje na strani operiranoj radiokirurškom tehnikom.The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a monopolar radiosurgery for blepharoplasty. This was a prospective trial in which upper eyelids of 28 patients were treated. Patients underwent a single treatment session: one eyelid was performed with monopolar radiosurgery while contra-lateral eyelid was performed with conventional surgery. The follow-up was 6 months. Assessments were made by the surgeon and by masked physician. The majority of patients, till 3th months postoperatively achieved the slightly better aesthetic results at radiosurgery sides, but no achieved dramatic results were acived. There were no serious adverse sequelae. Human eyelids can be safely treated with monopolar radiosugical device. Using this technology healing were the same or slightly better on side treated with radiosurgery

Retinopathy of Prematurity as a Cause of Blindness in Croatia

Cilj rada bio je istražiti koliko je često prematurna retinopatija (PR) uzrok sljepoće u Hrvatskoj. Upotrebljeni su podaci Saveza slijepih Hrvatske. Obrađeni su podaci Udruge slijepih grada Zagreba, Udruge slijepih Koprivničko-Križevačke županije i Udruge slijepih Međimurske županije, što čini 25% članstva Hrvatske udruge slijepih. Uzroci sljepoće obrađeni su prema dobi, spolu i razlogu sljepoće. PR je bio uzrok sljepoće u 260 osoba u Hrvatskoj. U cijeloj populaciji slijepih u Hrvatskoj PR je na desetom mjestu po učestalosti te vodeći uzrok sljepoće u dobi do 16 godina. Broj slijepih zbog PR od 1985. g. je u stalnom porastu. U obrađenim udrugama slijepih u razdoblju od 2005. do 2007. godine zbog PR je učlanjeno 7 slijepe djece. S obzirom na velik istraženi uzorak možemo zaključiti da u Hrvatskoj svakog 26. dana jedno dijete oslijepi zbog PR. Preventivi i liječenju PR nužno je pridati veće značenje, od županijskih bolnica do klinika i Ministarstva zdravstva.The aim of our study was to assess the rate of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) as a cause of blindness in Croatia. Data were collected from the registers of the associations of the blind. In our study, we analyzed 25% of the blind population in Croatia (N=1699) including the City of Zagreb, Koprivnica-Križevci County and Međimurje County Associations of the Blind. Data were analyzed according to sex, age and cause of blindness. According to prevalence, ROP ranked tenth as the cause of blindness in the blind population and was the main cause of blindness by age 16. The rate of ROP as a cause of blindness was on a continuous increase over the past two decades (1985-2007). The number of newly registered blind children during the past two-year period (2005-2007) indicated that every 26th day one child in Croatia goes blind because of ROP. Better prevention and treatment of ROP should be developed within the Croatian health care system

Common Variant in Myocilin Gene Is Associated with High Myopia in Isolated Population of Korčula Island, Croatia

Aim To study the association between genetic variants in myocilin and collagen type I alpha 1 genes and high myopia in an isolated island population. Methods A total of 944 examinees from the genetic epidemiology study conducted on the island of Korčula, Croatia, were included in the study. We selected 2 short nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) available in our genome-wide scan set of SNPs that were previously associated with high myopia and used them to replicate previous claims of possible association. Results Nineteen cases of high myopia, defined as the refraction of ≤-6.00 diopters, were identified and included in the analysis. We showed that rs2075555 in the COL1A1 gene was not associated with high myopia. In contrast, rs2421853 in the myocilin gene was significantly associated in both bivariate (P = 0.006) and age- and sex-adjusted analysis (P = 0.049). Conclusion Myocilin seems to be a very strong candidate for explaining some of the pathophysiological pathways leading to the development of both glaucoma and high myopia. As our finding was obtained in a relatively underpowered sample, further research and replication of these results is needed