Visual outcome of cataract surgery

The aim of this study was to assess whether the visual outcome of cataract surgery in the institution was in accordance with the World Health Organization recommendations. In this retrospective case series, all patients who underwent cataract surgery by a single surgeon from January 2009 till June 2011 were included. Date were collected from medical records on age, gender, visual acuity and causes of sub-optimal outcome. The main outcome was best-corrected visual acuity in the operated eye, measured 4 - 6 weeks after surgery. Data on visual outcome was grouped using WHO's classification. Of the 495 eyes that underwent cataract surgery, 58% were female. Overall, 93.3% of the operated eyes had good visual outcome, while 4.4% and 2.2% had borderline and poor outcomes, respectively. Pre-existing diseases accounted for 93.9% of the borderline/poor outcome. The study showed good visual outcome of cataract surgeries performed using phacoemulsification with intraocular lens [IOL] insertion

Periocular infantile haemangioma and the role of propranolol

This case of a four and a half-month-old girl describes periocular infantile haemangioma which was treated successfully with propranolol. She developed a red coloured lesion around the left upper eye lid at one week of age. A gradual increase was noticed in the size of the lesion and by the age of four and a half months, the swelling had increased enough to cover her visual axis, completely occluding her left eye. Oral propranolol therapy was initiated with a daily dosage of 1 mg/kg body weight. The dose was increased gradually, and there was an excellent response to propranolol treatment. A complete eye opening was observed 8 months after the initiation of this treatment

Healing of cornea following an electric burn

Electrical injuries have become a significant health problem in developing countries because of increase in access to electricity in the last few decades and lack of adequate safety measures. Electrical injuries of eyes are relatively uncommon. A case report of a rapid and complete corneal healing accompanied by satisfactory visual recovery after an electric burn event in a 20-year-old male is reported. The patient had accidental exposure to high voltage live wire while he was repairing it, resulting in severe ocular and superficial body burn. He was not wearing any protective equipment at the time of injury. On examination, the best-corrected visual acuity was counting fingers in the left eye with severe corneal epithelial loss and diffuse corneal oedema. The patient was treated medically, with a rapid corneal healing and resolution of oedema over the next few days. Visual acuity in the worse eye [left] improved to 20/25 from counting fingers

Blepharophimosis-ptosis-epiconthus inversus syndrome in a Pakistani pedigree

Blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome [BPES] is a rare developmental ocular disorder. We report this condition affecting 4 members of a Pakistani family across three generations. A 2-year-old girl was brought to the clinic by her father for the correction of her shortened palpebral fissures. Examination findings were consistent with BPES. The girl's father, paternal grandfather and paternal aunt also had identical features. The distance between the medial canthi of the index case was 30 mm, and the lengths of vertical and horizontal palpebral fissure were 6 mm and 20 mm, respectively. BPES must be considered an important differential diagnosis in patients presenting with blepharoptosis and blepharophimosis