Isolated ocular injury due to spitting cobra's venom

Some species of venomous snakes spit venom in human eyes as a defence mechanism when threatened. If not detected and treated appropriately early, this can result in severe toxic ocular injury leading to potential blindness (snake venom ophthalmia). Not much is known of the clinical course and treatment guidelines due to the rarity of such occurrences. We present a case of isolated severe toxic ocular injury in one eye who reported to us with very poor vision following venom spit, which was promptly treated leading to a successful visual recovery. This is the first documented case of snake venom ophthalmia from Kuala Belait, Brunei Darussalam.

A painful eye - Answers

(Refer to page 207) Answer: Hypopyon In this case, hypopyon is seen in the anterior chamber and posterior synaechiae can also be seen at the pupil margin. Hypopyon can be defined as layering of white blood cells in the anterior chamber of the eye following acute, subacute and chronic inflammatory reactions involving the aqueous humor and anatomical structures adjacent to it. It appears as a white milky layer at the bottom of the anterior chamber.

A painful eye

A 55-year-old man presented with a five-day history of blurring of vision, pain and redness in the right eye. He had no significant past ocular or medical history, and gave no history of trauma. Ophthalmologic examination is shown above (Panel). What is the diagnosis? Answer: refer to page 235

Botulinum induced ptosis for the treatment of neurotrophic keratitis

The main medical indications for botulinum toxin type A injections is to treat certain spasmodic muscle disorders. A 40-year-old Malay lady presented with a right lower motor neurone facial nerve palsy, and associated exposure keratitis and hypopyon, following excision of schwannoma. The keratitis resolved after treatment with lubricants and lateral tarsorraphy. Two months later, she presented with corneal ulcer and hypopyon, which did not respond to topical antibiotics. Complete ptosis was induced in the right eye using Botulinum Toxin type A trans-cutaneous injection to the superior palpebrae superiosis. Following the injection, the ulcer recovered gradually over a period of five weeks. This report illustrates an important role of Botulinum toxin A in the management of refractory exposure keratitis.

Outcome of surgical management of pterygium in Brunei Darussalam

Introduction A pterygium is an elevated, superficial, external ocular mass that usually forms over the peri-limbal conjunctiva and extends onto the corneal surface. It is more common in the tropics secondary to higher exposure to ultraviolet light. This study compares the various techniques of pterygium surgery including bare sclera, conjunctival autograft, and conjunctival mini-graft (with or without intraoperative Mitomycin C application) in terms of surgical outcome and recurrence rate and to identify the risk factors for recurrence and complications. Materials and Methods 959 patients operated for pterygium were retrospectively studied to determine the complications and recurrence rate after pterygium excision using the above mentioned surgical techniques. 625 (65.7%) were males. The mean age was 44 ± 12 years. Risk factors for recurrence were also studied. Results The recurrence rate of pterygium was 17.4%. There was no significant difference between the three surgical techniques in terms of recurrence rate (p = 0.28). Younger age was associated with higher recurrence rate (p = 0.001); There was no significant correlation between gender and recurrence of pterygium (p = 0.48). The bare sclera recurrence developed after a longer period of time compared to conjunctival grafts (p = 0.002). The commonest complication was granuloma (3.9%), followed by scleral thinning and/or melting (1.4%). Conclusion The study showed no statistically significant difference in terms of recurrence rate between the three pterygium surgical procedures studied. However, among cases of recurrence, those following bare sclera technique showed delayed recurrence compared to conjunctival autografts and conjunctival minigraft. The use of Mitomycin C adjunctive therapy was associated with significant reduction in recurrence rate. On the other hand, younger age group was associated with significantly higher recurrence rate.

Tonic pupil presenting after surgical removal of an orbital cavernous haemangioma

Orbital trauma and surgery are recognised aetiological factors of tonic pupil. Tonic or Adie's pupil is an efferent pupil defect in which light reactions to one or more segments of the iris sphincter are lost due to the postganglionic parasympathetic nerves damage from ciliary ganglion. There is loss of part or all of the light reflex and decrease in accommodative functions at near. We report a case of tonic pupil in a 42-year-lady after a successful surgical removal of an orbital cavernous haemangioma.