Radiation Retinopathy Following Cephalic Radiation

Radiation retinopathy is a slowly progressive vaso-occlusive microangiopathy of the retina, following irradiation of the head and the eye. Factors in the pathogenesis of this condition include total radiation dosage, proximity of the treated site to the eye, concomitant chemotherapy and preexisting vascular disorders. We present three patients of radiation retinopathy, one of who was a diabetes and two were positive for the history of concomitant chemotherpy. All the patients developed asymmetrical retinal change after the external cephalic radiation of over 3500 cGy within eleven to twenty-one months. Fluorescein angiographic findings confirmed the typical ischemic features of radiation retinopathy. As these cases show, physicians need to be aware of this vision-threatening complication following cephalic radiation, especially in the high-risk groups.

Surgically Induced Astigmatism According to Corneoscleral Incision Length and Suture Methods After Cataract Surgery

We analyzed corneal astigmatic change on patients after phacoemulsification with scleral pocket incision, according to incision length and suture methods. The patients were divided into 4 groups and followed up at least for 2 months. The four groups were 5.5 mm incision length with horizontal suture technique group, 5.5 mm incision length with sutureless technique group, 6.5 mm - 7.0 mm incision length with horizontal suture technique group and 6.5 mm - 7.0 mm incision length withsutureless technique group. Inall groups, there was slightly increasing tendency of against the rule astigmatism, but less than 0.54 D(average). Among the patients with 5.5 mm incision length, horizontal suture group had almost the same astigmatic change as sutureless group(p=0.44, t-test), and with horizontal suture technique, 5.5 mm group had a tendency of less astigmatic change than 6.5 - 7.0 mm group(p=0.087, t-test), but without statistical significance.

Corneal Astigmatism after Cataract Surgery: The Effect of Electrocautery

Corneal astigmatism after cataract surgery: The effect of electrocautery. We analized the effect of electrocautery on corneal astigmatism after cataract operation. Phacoemulsification and PCL implantation were performed by standard technique with 5.5 mm scleral pocket incision and sutureless method. In electrocautery group. scleral cautery was done at the site of scleral pocket incision and in no electrocautery group, cautery was not performed. 53 eyes(electrocautery group) showed slight against the rule change(-0.26D +/- 0.72) of corneal astigmatism, while 24 eyes(no electrocautery group) showed slight with the rule change(+0.36D +/- 0.67) of corneal astigmatism at post-operative 2 months. And these difference was statistically significant.(Student's t-test; p=0.019) Therefore, we found the scleral electrocautery at the incision site during cataract surgery induced slight against the rule change of corneal astigmatism.

Astigmatism after Penetrating Keratoplasty According to Suture Methods

A large amount of corneal astigmatism after penetrating keratoplasty is a common problem. The purpose of this study was to find out which is the best suture method to minimize the postoperative corneal astigmatism. Among 35 eyes there were 7 eyes in interrupted suture group, 14 eyes in continuous suture group, and 14 eyes in combined suture group. In order to minimize postoperative astigmatism selective suture removal was done in interrupted suture group or combined suture group, and suture tension adjustment was made in continuous suture group. At postoperative 20 months the mean astigmastism was 5.97D in interrupted suture group, 3.66D in continuous suture group and 2.87D in combined suture group, respectively. There was no statistical significance. In spite of statistical insignificance, the astigmatism of continuous or combined suture group after penetrating keratoplasty was smaller than that of interrupted suture group after penetrating keratoplasty.