Orbital Emphysema and Pneumocephalus Caused by Compressed Air Injury

Purpose@#To report a case of orbital emphysema and pneumocephalus after exposure to compressed air.Case summary: A 49-year-old male visited our medical center after his left eye was damaged by a compressed air gun in an industrial setting. During the anterior segment examination, swelling of the left periorbital area, crepitation, and tenderness were observed in the upper and lower eyelids. On slit-lamp examination, there was a 12 mm conjunctival laceration in the temporal area, subconjunctival hemorrhage, multiple subconjunctival air bubbles, and microhyphema in the anterior chamber. A computed tomography scan of the head and orbit showed subcutaneous and intraorbital emphysema and pneumocephalus. Primary closure of the lacerated conjunctiva was performed. The patient was prescribed systemic and topical antibiotics with bed rest. Four days after the trauma, microhyphema and swelling of the eyelids were decreased significantly. Six days after the trauma, there were improvements of orbital emphysema and pneumocephalus without any complications. In summary, we report a rare case of orbital emphysema and pneumocephalus caused by compressed air. @*Conclusions@#Orbital emphysema and pneumocephalus can occur due to compressed air injury in the absence of orbital wall fracture.

The Effect of Intravitreal Bevacizumab Injection before Trabeculectomy in Patients with Neovascular Glaucoma

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of preoperative intravitreal bevacizumab injection (IVBI) and prognostic factors of surgical success in neovascular glaucoma patients, who underwent trabeculectomy. METHODS: A total of 58 patients (58 eyes) diagnosed with neovascular glaucoma who underwent trabeculectomy between 2003 and 2013 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Trabeculectomy with mitomycin C was performed between 2003 and 2006 and additional preoperative IVBI with the above mentioned technique was performed between 2007 and 2013. To evaluate the efficacy of preoperative IVBI, the patients were divided into the preoperative IVBI group and control group. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured from preoperative to postoperative 12 months. To evaluate the prognostic factors related to surgical success, the following was investigated: age, lens status, preoperative IVBI, time interval between preoperative IVBI and trabeculectomy, previous vitrectomy and, postoperative complications. RESULTS: Trabeculectomy with mitomycin C only was performed in 26 eyes and additional preoperative IVBI was performed in 32 eyes. Surgical success was 81.3% in the IVBI group and 57.7% in the control group at postoperative 6 months (p = 0.012), and 78.1% in the IVBI group and 50.0% in the control group at postoperative 12 months (p = 0.021). Statistically significant IOP reduction effect was observed in the IVBI group (p = 0.048), and reduced anti-glaucoma eye drop usage was observed in the IVBI group (0.4) compared with 0.8 in the control group (p = 0.040). Postoperative hyphema (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.872, p = 0.044) and preoperative IVBI (HR = 0.280, p = 0.030) were considered risk factors for surgical failure in univariate analysis, however, only preoperative IVBI was statistically significant in multivariate analysis (p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: In neovascular glaucoma patients, preoperative IVBI before trabeculectomy is a good prognostic factor of surgical success and shows benefit in lowering the IOP and reducing anti-glaucoma eye drop usage at postoperative 1 year.

Macular Hole Formation after Vitrectomy: Preventable?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the causes of secondary macular hole after vitrectomy and the possibility of their prevention. METHODS: 27 patients (28 eyes) who experienced macular hole formation after vitrectomy were reviewed retrospectively. Age, sex, operation methods, duration between the vitrectomy and the secondary macular hole surgery and causes of the primary vitrectomy were recorded. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before and after primary vitrectomy; preoperative and postoperative macular findings with optical coherence tomography and fundus examination; and BCVA before and after macular hole surgery were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 2945 eyes that had undergone vitrectomy, 28 eyes (0.96%) experienced macular hole formation. As causes of primary vitrectomy, 12 eyes had proliferative diabetic retinopathy, 6 eyes had rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, 2 eyes had branch retinal vein occlusion, 3 eyes had age-related macular degeneration and 5 eyes had trauma such as eyeball rupture or intraocular foreign body. The mean duration between primary vitrectomy and macular hole formation was 20.4 months (4 days-115 months). The estimated causes of macular hole formation included cystoid macular edema (CME) (n = 13), thinning of the macula (n = 6), thickening of internal limiting membrane or recurrence of preretinal membrane (PRM) (n = 7), recurrence of subretinal hemorrhage (n = 1) and macular damage during vitrectomy (n = 2). Final BCVA after macular hole surgery decreased in most cases compared to BCVA before macular hole formation except in 7 eyes (25%). CONCLUSIONS: Close observation of the macula after primary vitrectomy especially in eyes with continuous CME, and recurrent PRM and proper management on them including timely removal of the tangential traction force are necessary for preventing macular hole formation. In addition, surgeons should make efforts not to exert excessive tractional force on the macula to avoid iatrogenic damage during removal of the preretinal membrane.

The Ratio of Accommodative-Convergence to Accommodation in Patients with Nonrefractive Accommodative Esotropia

PURPOSE: To measure the ratio of accommodative-convergence to accommodation (AC/A ratio) in patients with nonrefractive accommodative esotropia in comparison to refractive accommodative esotropia and normal groups. METHODS: A total of 43 subjects were divided into 3 groups: the nonrefractive accommodative esotropia group (group 1), the refractive accommodative esotropia group (group 2) and the normal group (group 3). Age, sex, age of onset, and refractive errors were recorded. The deviation angle was measured near and at distance by using a prism cover test. The AC/A ratio was calculated using a gradient method. RESULTS: Refractive errors were 2.3 +/- 1.7 D (OD) and 2.4 +/- 2.1 D (OS) in group 1, 4.8 +/- 0.9 D (OD) and 4.6 +/- 1.1 D (OS) in group 2, and -0.3 +/- 1.5 D (OD) and -0.5 +/- 1.5 D (OS) in group 3. Group 2 had higher mean refractive errors than groups 1 and 3, while the difference in refractive error between group 1 and group 3 was not statistically significant. The AC/A ratio was 5.5 in group 1, 2.1 in group 2 and 2.2 in group 3; there was no significant difference between groups 2 and 3, while group 1 had a significantly higher AC/A ratio than both of these groups. CONCLUSIONS: AC/A ratio in patients with nonrefractive accommodative esotropia is higher than that of refractive accommodative esotropia or normal children. It could be used for bifocal lens as non-surgical treatment.