4-Flanged intrascleral fixation of an intraocular lens through the dialing hole

The high prevalence of mature, hypermature, and traumatic cataracts in developing countries, combined with the limited availability of surgical resources and skill by anterior segment surgeons to manage the resultant aphakia, leaves the patient needlessly blind. Relying on posterior segment surgeons, expensive surgical setup, and appropriate lenses for aphakia management limits the number of patients receiving a secondary intraocular lens (IOL). Utilizing the well-acknowledged flanging technique and the readily available polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) lenses with dialing holes in their optic, a hammock can be created through the dialing holes using a 7-0 polypropylene suture on a straight needle. This 4-flanged scleral fixation through the dialing hole of an IOL makes scleral fixation of PMMA lens possible by even anterior segment surgeons without requiring any specialized equipment or scleral fixated lens with eyelet. This technique was successfully performed in a series of 103 cases with no incidence of IOL decentration.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward mucormycosis among patients discharged from a COVID-19 care tertiary center in South India: A questionnaire-based survey

Purpose: To study the awareness of mucormycosis among discharged inpatients after receiving treatment for COVID?19 infection at a tertiary COVID care center in south India. Methods: This was a telephone?based survey conducted using a questionnaire consisting of 38 questions in five sections in the month of June–July 2021. COVID?positive inpatients who had been admitted, treated, and discharged from a government medical college were contacted via phones, and their responses were directly entered into the Google Forms platform. Results: A total of 222 participants were included in the study. Among all the participants, a cumulative 66% of participants had some knowledge of mucormycosis and 98/222 (44%) did not have any idea of mucormycosis in spite of being admitted to the hospital. More than 40% of them reported that their prime source of information was through mass communication. Around 81% of the respondents were aware that it can occur after COVID?19 infection. Among them, only 25 knew that systemic steroids were the main risk factor. Sixty?four out of 124 knew that diabetes is a major risk factor. Fifty percent agreed that a vaccine for COVID can prevent mucormycosis. Conclusion: Such knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) studies give us an idea of the impact of the measures taken for educating the public. In this study, a cumulative 66% of participants had some knowledge of mucormycosis and 34.7% were diabetics who had better knowledge and practice scores than non?diabetics. Sixty?six point nine percent felt that it was possible to prevent this condition

“Dye another day!” – dyes in ophthalmology

Background: Dyes are substances that are an integral part of ocular procedures and surgeries. In Clinical practice, dyes help in better visualization and aid in diagnoses of ocular surface disorders. In Surgical practice, dyes help in better resolution of the structures that are otherwise naked to the surgeon’s eyes. Purpose: To educate ophthalmologists about the importance and uses of dyes. Synopsis: Dyes have become an important part of an ophthalmologists' clinical as well as surgical practice. This video aims at educating the different characteristics, uses, advantages and disadvantages of each dye. Dyes help in identifying the obscure and highlighting the invisible. The indications and contraindications as well as the side effects of each dye are discussed which would help ophthalmologists in the correct usage of these wonder substances. This video will also help the new eye doctors understand and utilize these dyes judiciously which would aid in their learning process and provide better patient care. Highlights: This video highlights the uses, indications, contraindications and side effects of all the dyes used in ophthalmology

A novel transconjunctival, intrascleral, ab-externo, knotless, and double-flanged technique with 6-0 Prolene for iridodialysis repair

Small traumatic iridodialysis (ID) may be asymptomatic, but large ones usually cause polycoria and corectopia, leading to symptoms like diplopia, glare, and photophobia. The management of ID, including medical and surgical methods, depends upon the patient’s symptoms. Mild glare and diplopia can be treated either with atropine, antiglaucoma medications, tinted spectacles, colored contact lens, or corneal tattooing, but extensive IDs require surgical options. The surgical techniques are challenging due to the iris texture and the damage encountered during the primary surgery, the narrow anatomical workspace for repair, and the associated surgical complications. Numerous techniques have been described by several authors in the literature; each has its advantages and disadvantages. All the procedures described previously involve conjunctival peritomy, scleral incisions, and suture knots and are time consuming. Here, we report a novel transconjunctival, intrascleral, knotless, and ab-externo, double-flanged technique for repair of large ID with a 1-year follow-up

Retrospective analysis of the role of anterior segment optical coherence tomography and outcomes of cataract surgery in posterior polar cataract

Purpose: To evaluate the visual and surgical outcomes of cataract surgery in patients with posterior polar cataract (PPC) and to evaluate the benefits of preoperative anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS?OCT). Methods: This was a retrospective, single?center study. Case records of patients diagnosed with PPC who underwent cataract surgery either by phacoemulsification or manual small?incision cataract surgery (MSICS) from January to December 2019 were analyzed. Data collected include demographic details, preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), AS?OCT, type of cataract surgery, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and visual outcome at 1?month follow?up. Results: One hundred patients were included in the study. Preoperative posterior capsular defect was noted on AS?OCT in 14 patients (14%). Seventy?eight underwent phacoemulsification and 22 underwent MSICS. Intraoperatively, posterior capsular rupture (PCR) was seen in 13 patients (13%) and cortex drop was noted in one among them (1%). Out of 13 PCRs, 12 were found to have posterior capsular dehiscence preoperatively in AS?OCT. The sensitivity of AS?OCT for detecting posterior capsule dehiscence was 92.3% and specificity was 97.7%. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 85.7% and 98.8%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the incidence of PCR between phacoemulsification and MSICS (P = 0.475). The mean BCVA at 1 month was found to be better with phacoemulsification than MSICS (P = 0.004). Conclusion: Preoperative AS?OCT has excellent specificity and negative predictive value in identifying posterior capsular dehiscence. It thus helps to plan the surgery and counsel patients appropriately. Both phacoemulsification and MSICS provide good visual outcome with similar complication rates.

Single haptic iris fixation of posterior chamber intraocular lens

Single haptic iris fixation technique is used where there is a loss of 6 clock hours anterior capsular support. It helps the anterior segment surgeon to fix the intraocular lens to the iris on the side of absent capsular support and place the other haptic over the capsular support. A 10-0 polypropylene suture on a long-curved needle is only used to take a suture bite on the side of capsule loss. Meticulous automated anterior vitrectomy is done. Then, the suture loop below the iris is taken out and the loops are twirled multiple times around the haptic. The leading haptic is then gently glided behind the iris, and the trailing haptic is gently placed on the other side using forceps. The suture ends are trimmed and internalized into the anterior chamber and then externalized through the paracentesis using a Kuglen hook, and the knot is tied and secured

Changes in emergency glaucoma care during the COVID-19 pandemic in South India

Purpose: To assess the differences in the pattern of presentation of glaucoma emergency conditions during the various phases of pandemic?related travel restrictions: first wave?related lockdown, unlock period, and the second wave?related lockdown. Methods: The number of new emergency glaucoma conditions, the various diagnoses, and the total number of all new glaucoma patients presenting to the glaucoma services at five tertiary eye care centers in south India from 24th March 2020 to 30th June 2021 were collected from the electronic medical records and were analyzed. The data were compared with the corresponding time period in the year 2019. Results: In total, 620 patients presented with an emergency glaucoma diagnosis during the first wave?related lockdown as against 1337 during the same period in 2019 (P < 0.0001). During the unlock period, 2659 such patients visited the hospital compared with 2122 in 2019 (P = 0.0145). During the second wave?related lockdown, there were 351 emergency patients compared with 526 patients in 2019 (P < 0.0001). Lens?induced glaucomas (50.4%) and neovascular glaucoma (20.6%) were the most common diagnoses during the first wave?related lockdown. During the unlock period, there was a greater proportion of neovascular glaucoma (P = 0.0123). The second wave?related lockdown had a greater proportion of phacolytic glaucomas (P = 0.005) and acute primary angle closure (P = 0.0397) patients. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that emergency glaucoma care was grossly underutilized by the people during the lockdowns. Trivial conditions like cataracts or retinal vascular diseases if not treated appropriately may progress to become emergencies in the future.

Important signs to check posterior capsule integrity

For beginner surgeons, it is difficult to recognize the posterior capsule during cataract surgery. In the case of brown cataracts with a thin posterior capsule and in cataracts with asteroid hyalosis, it is difficult to identify the capsule before intraocular lens (IOL) implantation even for expert surgeons. Here we illustrate five important signs, which can be practiced in routine cases to make sure the posterior capsule is intact, before IOL implantation.

Do motivational cards really benefit sibling screening of primary open-angle glaucoma probands?

Purpose: To compare the impact of Sibling Motivational Card (SMC) and oral counseling in screening siblings of primary open?angle glaucoma (POAG) probands. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-four newly diagnosed POAG probands were randomized to receive either oral counseling or SMC to motivate their siblings for a glaucoma screening at a tertiary eye care hospital in South India from July 2015 and June 2017. A total of 116 probands were orally counseled with a standard template of dialogs about the importance of family screening to motivate their siblings for a screening. One hundred and eighteen probands were randomized to receive SMC, bearing the details of the proband, sibling, and a message stressing the importance of family screening, in addition to oral counseling. We assessed the response rate in each group. Additionally, we evaluated the prevalence of POAG in the siblings. Results: A total of 95 siblings of 234 POAG probands were screened. The mean age distribution was 53.33 ± 10.9 years (range 28–79 years). The male to female ratio was 3:4. The percentage of siblings screened was more in the oral counseling group (63.2%) than in the SMC group (36.8). About 43 (45%) siblings had some form of glaucoma, and 13.6% had POAG. An additional 22.1% were disk suspects, and 5.2% had ocular hypertension. Conclusion: SMC did not have an additional benefit over the standard oral counseling in promoting sibling screening. Our study stresses the importance of sibling screening in POAG probands. Targeting siblings of POAG probands with oral counseling may offer a relatively inexpensive way of detecting glaucoma

Clinical and demographic profile of patients less than 40 years of age presenting to glaucoma services at a tertiary care eye hospital in South India

Purpose: To study the clinical and demographic profile of patients less than 40 years of age presenting to glaucoma services including the reasons for referral. Methods: Patients in the age group of 5 to 39 years, visiting the glaucoma clinic, who were either suspected to have glaucoma or who had been newly/previously diagnosed with glaucoma were included in the study. After informed written consent, basic demographic details of the participants including age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, and family history were obtained. A comprehensive ophthalmological evaluation was performed by glaucoma specialists. Results: The proportion of glaucoma in the study population (n = 384) was found to be 31.25%, and the incidence of glaucoma among new patients was found to be 11.9%. Among all glaucomas (n = 120), 44.2% of patients had secondary glaucomas, 27.5% had primary glaucomas, and 28.3% had congenital glaucomas. Also, 67.3% of all glaucoma patients were males. Newly diagnosed glaucoma patients presented with a mean intraocular pressure (IOP) of 32.9 mmHg and mild–moderate disc damage with a mean cup?disc ratio of 0.65. Nearly one?third of them had a presenting visual acuity worse than 5/60. The most common reason for referral was raised IOP. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that the odds of developing glaucoma were less in females (P = 0.04) and in patients with a higher standard of living index (P < 0.001). Conclusion: One?third of the patients had glaucoma and another one?third were suspects. Secondary glaucomas are more common than primary/congenital glaucomas. A comprehensive eye evaluation is a must, especially in those with predisposing factors.

Vacuum-assisted cortex removal - A novel change to the tradition

In developing countries, manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS) has surfaced as the cost-effective alternative to phacoemulsification. The Simcoe irrigation-aspiration cannula was developed nearly 40 years ago and is still the most frequently employed tool for cortex aspiration. Although it stands unsurpassed, here we attempt to introduce an addition to the existing Simcoe cannula to achieve a dynamic and controlled vacuum with the added advantage of less physical strain and an effective volume of aspiration. The vacuum-assisted cortex removal device is based on a simple spring action mechanism, where the relaxation of the spring pushes the plunger up and thereby generates a controlled vacuum

Analysis of hesitancy and motivational factors for COVID-19 vaccination among patients presenting to eye care hospitals – A multicenter questionnaire-based survey

Purpose: To analyze the hesitancy and motivational factors related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID?19) vaccination among patients visiting for eye care. Methods: A telephonic survey was conducted using validated questionnaires consisting of 36 questions in five sections from July 1 to July 31, 2021. Patients visiting six tertiary centers and one secondary center of our eye hospitals were interviewed over their phones, and their responses were entered onto the Google forms. The responses were recorded as demographics, health status, awareness about vaccination, factors contributing to hesitancy or acceptance to vaccinate, and general perception about the vaccine. Results: A total of 5033 patients were surveyed. The mean age was 49.0 ± 14.2 years. A total of 563 (11.2%) patients gave a history of symptoms or were tested positive for COVID?19; 2225 (44.2%) patients were already COVID?19 vaccinated. Around 2883 (56%) patients were aware of getting infection despite vaccination, and 4092 (81.3%) perceived vaccination should be compulsory. The main reason for vaccination hesitancy was the fear of side effects (n = 487, 17.3%). The fear of getting infected was the most common reason for vaccination (n = 911, 40.9%). Factors associated with a lower proportion of vaccinated individuals included younger age (P < 0.001), female gender (P < 0.001), lower education (P < 0.001), lower income (P < 0.001), and rural residence (P = 0.33). Conclusion: Creating awareness about the minor side effects and reassurance can allay an individual’s fears. The fear associated with the rapid spread of infection and associated mortality needs to be utilized to increase vaccination acceptance. A targeted approach toward groups with poor uptake of vaccination is necessary.

Analysis of motivating factors for eye donation among families of eye donors in South India – A questionnaire-based study

Purpose: To report the factors influencing eye donation among families of successful eye donors in India. Methods: The consenting family members of 434 deceased individuals who donated eyes between April 2019 and March 2020 were retrospectively interviewed via a telephonic questionnaire survey. Details regarding the donors and their families, motivating factors for eye donation, and time taken for tissue recovery were collected and analyzed. Results: The mean age of donors was 66.8 years, and only 13.9% of them had pledged to donate their eyes before death. For 62.3% of donations, children of donors were the primary consenters for eye donation. In 18.8% of donors, there was a previous history of eye donation in the family. Many donations were motivated by a non?governmental organization volunteer (40.5%) or by a grief counselor at the hospital (27.4%). Hospital?based corneal retrieval programs and donations where the first eye bank contact was made through hospital personnel had the greatest percentage of rapid enucleations (performed within 3 h after death) (48.7% and 49.1%, respectively; P = 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively). Conclusion: Children of donors, typically in the working?age group, most often make the decision for donation, and hence, future awareness programs should focus on this specific population. All types of hospitals should advocate for eye donation as they are a common point of contact for a grieving family, and health?care professionals at all levels should be considered for training as motivators for eye donation.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward mucormycosis among patients presenting to six tertiary eye care hospitals in South India – A multicentric online questionnaire-based survey

Purpose: To study the awareness on mucormycosis among outpatients who visited six tertiary eye care hospitals at Madurai, Pondicherry, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Chennai, and Tirupati. Methods: This was a telephone?based survey conducted using questionnaires consisting of 38 questions in five sections from July 5 to 25, 2021. Patients visiting the eye hospitals for an examination were contacted over their phones and responses were directly entered onto the Google forms platform. Results: A total of 4573 participants were included in the study. Among all participants, a cumulative 83% of participants had some knowledge of mucormycosis. More than 80% of them reported that their prime source of information was through mass communication like television or radio. Around 34.8% of the respondents were aware that it can occur after treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID?19) infection, only half of them (54.3%) knew that systemic steroids were the main risk factor. The knowledge scores were higher for participants who were diabetics (n = 1235) or had been affected by COVID?19 earlier (n = 456) or whose friends had mucormycosis earlier (n = 312). Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) scores of nonprofessional health?care workers (n = 103) were much better compared to patients. Conclusion: Such KAP studies give us an idea of the impact of the measures taken for educating the public. In this study, a cumulative 83% of participants had some knowledge of mucormycosis and 86% knew that this was an emergency. More than 50% of the participants were not aware that diabetes is a risk factor for mucormycosis.

Reasons for delay in cataract surgery in patients with advanced cataracts during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: To analyze the reasons for delay in cataract surgery in patients with advanced cataracts during the COVID?19 pandemic. Methods: This was a prospective, cross?sectional, multicenter questionnaire study which included patients with mature cataract, nuclear sclerotic cataract grade IV, and cataracts with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) <5/60, during the COVID?19 pandemic from December 2020 to April 2021. Reasons for delay in presentation to the hospital were analyzed. Results: One thousand four hundred seventy two patients were recruited with advanced cataracts. Absence of ophthalmic care nearby (44.2%), lack of awareness regarding elective surgeries (42.6%), lack of public transportation (37%), fear of contracting COVID?19 (23.4%), and waiting for outreach camps (20.4%) were found to be the reasons behind the delay in cataract surgery. 53.7% of the patients had worsening of defective vision and 55.3% of them had difficulty in carrying out activities of family living. 30.8% of the patients faced difficulty in commuting and 8.4% of the patients suffered a fall during this pandemic due to worsening of the visual acuity. Conclusion: The lockdown imposed during the pandemic has created a significant backlog of patients who are progressing to advanced cataracts due to lack of ophthalmic care nearby, lack of awareness regarding elective surgeries, lack of public transportation, and no outreach camps. Proactive measures to deal with this backlog are of utmost need to prevent blindness due to cataract

Artificial intelligence in glaucoma

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that encompasses the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans. It deals with the development algorithms that seek to simulate human brain and also mimic cognitive functions typically associated with the human mind such as learning and problem solving. Purpose: Do we need artificial intelligence in Glaucoma? Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness in the world. Its prevalence was over 60 million in 2010 and over 80 million by 2020. It is so common, yet so easily overlooked. More importantly, about 50% of patients in developed countries and 90% in developing countries are unaware of having glaucoma. Early detection can delay the progression of glaucoma. Hence the time is ripe to advovate glaucoma screening. Synopsis: The application of AI in ophthalmology mainly concentrates on the diseases with a high incidence, such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity, age-related or congenital cataract etc AI involves mainly 1. machine learning that are algorithms with the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed and 2. deep learning in which artificial neural networks adapt and learn from vast amounts of data. But there are limitations to screening - such as disparity between ophthalmologist:patient ratio and also the availability of the specialty services. The large amount of data acquired from patients makes it nearly impossible for ophthalmologists to screen them with equal efficacy and consistency. Highlights: AI in glaucoma aims at including factors such as clinical data, genomic data, life style behaviors, risk factors, and medical history to predict the risk of developing glaucoma, help customise the most appropriate management protocol for a given patient, and estimate prognosis and surgical success.

Development and validation of an offline deep learning algorithm to detect vitreoretinal abnormalities on ocular ultrasound

Purpose: We describe our offline deep learning algorithm (DLA) and validation of its diagnostic ability to identify vitreoretinal abnormalities (VRA) on ocular ultrasound (OUS). Methods: Enrolled participants underwent OUS. All images were classified as normal or abnormal by two masked vitreoretinal specialists (AS, AM). A data set of 4902 OUS images was collected, and 4740 images of satisfactory quality were used. Of this, 4319 were processed for further training and development of DLA, and 421 images were graded by vitreoretinal specialists (AS and AM) to obtain ground truth. The main outcome measures were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC). Results: Our algorithm demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in identifying VRA on OUS ([90.8%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 86.1�.3%] and [97.1% (95% CI: 93.7�.9%], respectively). PPV and NPV of the algorithm were also high ([97.0%; 95% CI: 93.7�.9%] and [90.8%; 95% CI: 86.2�.3%], respectively). The AUROC was high at 0.939, and the intergrader agreement was nearly perfect with Cohen抯 kappa of 0.938. The model demonstrated high sensitivity in predicting vitreous hemorrhage (100%), retinal detachment (97.4%), and choroidal detachment (100%). Conclusion: Our offline DLA software demonstrated reliable performance (high sensitivity, specificity, AUROC, PPV, NPV, and intergrader agreement) for predicting VRA on OUS. This might serve as an important tool for the ophthalmic technicians who are involved in community eye screening at rural settings where trained ophthalmologists are not available

Economic and social factors that influence households not willing to undergo cataract surgery.

Purpose: Literature investigating barriers to cataract surgery is mostly done from the patient’s point of view. However, many medical decisions are jointly taken by household members, especially in developing countries such as India. We investigated from the household head’s (or representative’s) perspective, households’ view on those not willing to undergo cataract surgery along with the economic and social factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional survey of four randomly selected village clusters in rural areas of Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, was conducted to elicit the willingness to pay for cataract surgery by presenting “scenarios” that included having or not having free surgery available. The presentation of scenarios allowed the identification of respondents who were unwilling to undergo surgery. Logistic regression was used to estimate relationships between economic and social factors and unwillingness to undergo cataract surgery. Results: Of the 1271 respondents, 49 (3.85%) were not willing to undergo surgery if they or their family members have cataract even if free surgery were available. In the regression results, those with good understanding of cataract and its treatment were less likely to be unwilling to undergo cataract surgery. Those not reporting household income were more likely to be unwilling to undergo cataract surgery. Conclusions: As a good understanding of cataract was an important predictor of willingness to undergo cataract surgery, health education on cataract and its intervention can improve uptake.

Goat’s eye integrated with a human cataractous lens: A training model for phacoemulsification.

A relatively simple and inexpensive technique to train surgeons in phacoemulsification using a goat’s eye integrated with a human cataractous nucleus is described. The goat’s eye is placed on a bed of cotton within the lumen of a cylindrical container. This is then mounted on a rectangular thermocol so that the limbus is presented at the surgical field. After making a clear corneal entry with a keratome, the trainer makes a 5–5.5 mm continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis in the anterior lens capsule, creates a crater of adequate depth in the cortex and inserts the human nucleus within this crater in the goat’s capsular bag. The surgical wound is sutured, and the goat’s eye is ready for training. Creating the capsulorhexis with precision and making the crater of adequate depth to snugly accommodate the human nucleus are the most important steps to prevent excessive wobbling of the nucleus while training.

Capsulotomy and hydroprocedures for nucleus prolapse in manual small incision cataract surgery.

Manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) involves the manual removal of nucleus through a scleral tunnel. To achieve 100% success every time, one has to do a good capsulotomy and should master the technique to prolapse the nucleus into anterior chamber. During conversion from extracapsular cataract surgery to MSICS, one can perform a can-opener capsulotomy and prolapse the nucleus. However, it is safer and better to perform a capsulorrhexis and hydroprolapse the nucleus, as it makes the rest of the steps of MSICS comfortable. Use of trypan blue in white and brown cataracts makes the capsulorrhexis and prolapse simple and safe. Extra caution should be taken in cases with hypermature cataracts with weak zonules and subluxated cataracts.