Therapeutic Effect of Squeezing the Punctum and Lacrimal Canaliculus in Canaliculitis Patients

PURPOSE: To report the therapeutic effect of squeezing the punctum and lacrimal canaliculus using Q-tips in canaliculitis patients. METHODS: From March 2004 to February 2014, 42 eyes of 42 patients diagnosed with canaliculitis at our clinic were retrospectively analyzed. To remove the discharge and concretions, the punctum and lacrimal canaliculus were squeezed using Q-tips without invasive procedures. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 56.39 years and mean follow-up period was 10.6 months. No statistical significance was observed in terms of rate of disease occurrence and mean age between males and females. Among the eyes analyzed, 30 (71.4%) were cured with only 1 squeezing procedure, 12 eyes (28.6%) required more than 2 procedures; 1 eye (2.3%) recurred and the period until recurrence was 3.8 months. CONCLUSIONS: Most studies support surgical management as the definitive therapy for canaliculitis to remove concretions that serve as a reservoir for bacteria. The gold standard treatments are curettage or canaliculotomy; however, these are not safe procedures and may result in epiphora in post-procedure patients due to the risk of lacrimal pump dysfunctioning or scarring of the canalicular system following invasive procedure. Squeezing punctum and lacrimal canaliculus only using Q-tips is effective in removing the canalicular concretions and without causing complications in the canalicular system.

Clinical Effectiveness of the Lateral Tarsal Strip Procedure

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical indications and efficacy of the lateral tarsal strip procedure. METHODS: The medical records of patients who underwent the lateral tarsal strip procedure between September 2008 and February 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. We examined age, gender, diagnosis, procedures simultaneously performed with the lateral tarsal strip, duration of observation, postoperative complications and cases requiring revision surgery. Patients without recurrence or undercorrection of eyelid/lateral canthal area lesions, surgical complication and not requiring revision surgery until final visit were considered as successful cases. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-three eyes of 129 patients were included in this study. The mean patient age was 61.6 years and average follow-up duration was 9.2 months. Diagnoses of eyes were lower lid laxity (39.9%), involutional entropion (24.0%), lower lid retraction (14.8%), cicatricial ectropion (6.6%), lateral canthal deformity (5.5%), involutional ectropion (3.8%) and paralytic ectropion (2.7%). Surgical procedures simultaneously conducted with lateral tarsal strip in 167 eyes of 183 eyes were endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (30.5%), lower retractor tightening (19.2%), medial spindle procedure (13.8%), mid-lamellar lengthening (12.6%), lower blepharoplasty (10.8%), Quickert suture (4.2%) and Hotz's operation (3.0%). Successful results were obtained in 116 of 129 patients (89.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The lateral tarsal strip procedure can successfully correct lower lid laxity and be used in various clinical indications with or without other surgical procedures.

Significant Intraocular Sequelae in Orbital Blunt Trauma and Their Association with Blowout Fracture

PURPOSE: To investigate the frequency of significant intraocular sequelae (SIOS) in orbital blunt trauma and their association with blowout and facial bone fractures. METHODS: A retrospective survey consisting of 726 patients with orbital blunt trauma who visited Korea University Medical Center was performed. Patients were divided into three groups: blowout fracture only group (group 1), facial bone fracture group (nasal bone fracture, maxillary fracture, zygoma fracture without blowout fracture, group 2), and non-fracture group (group 3). SIOS (traumatic iridocyclitis, commotio retina, hyphema, retinal hemorrhage, eyeball rupture, vitreous hemorrhage, retinal detachment, lens dislocation, traumatic cataract) were surveyed in each group, and the association between the frequency of SIOS and the presence of blowout fracture or facial bone fracture was analyzed. RESULTS: The frequency of SIOS in the fracture groups was 83.8% in group 1 and 73.3% in group 2, which were both higher than the 67.9% in group 3, the non-fracture group (p = 0.000 by chi-square linear by linear association). Traumatic iridocyclitis and hyphema were also significantly higher in groups 1 and 2 than group 3 (p = 0.003, p = 0.008 by chi-square linear by linear association). CONCLUSIONS: SIOS was found significantly more often in the fracture group than the group without fracture, although the frequency of severe SIOS was lower in the fracture group than the non-fracture group. The results from the present study could help in the treatment and management of patients with orbital blunt trauma.

Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma with Peritumoral Edema: A Case Report

Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma is a rare, usually benign, supratentorial tumor involving the leptomeninges and superficial cortex, and usually occurs during the second and third decades. We experienced a case of right frontotemporal pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma with moderate peritumoral edema in a 28-year-old female who complained of seizures and headache, and describe the CT, MRI and pathologic findings.

Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma of the Retroperitoneum in a Child: A Case Report

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma occurring in children, though retroperitoneal rhabdomyosarcoma is rare. We experienced a case of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the retroperitoneum in a 43-month-old child, and describe the CT , MRI and pathologic findings.