Origins of lacrimal surgery, and evolution of dacryocystorhinostomy to the present.

The creation of an alternative pathway from the lacrimal sac into the nose has been practised for over two millennia. Early historical figures who pioneered lacrimal surgery were Celsus and Galen, treating dacryocystitis by plunging a red-hot cautery iron through the lacrimal bone into the nose. Better understanding of lacrimal physiology and anatomy led to the introduction of more sophisticated techniques in the 18th century. However, despite these approaches, the technique of Celsus continued to be practised well into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Modern lacrimal surgery began when the Italian otolaryngologist, Toti, described his external dacryocystorhinostomy procedure in 1904. Dupuy-Dutemps and Bourget refined Toti's procedure, and introduced the technique of anastomosing lacrimal and nasal mucosal flaps which remains the foundation of the external dacryocystorhinostomy performed today. The endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy was described before the external approach, but its popularity and success grew only in recent times.

Margins of excision and prognostic factors for cutaneous eyelid melanomas.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines for wide excision of cutaneous melanomas according to Breslow thickness are impractical when considering melanomas arising on eyelid skin. No consensus exists regarding appropriate excision margins for these tumours. This study sought to determine whether excision margins influenced locoregional recurrence, and to identify prognostic factors for survival in these patients. METHODS: Fifty-six cases of invasive cutaneous eyelid melanomas diagnosed between 1985 and 2011 were identified from the database of Melanoma Institute Australia. Clinical and pathological factors were assessed for their associations with recurrence and survival. RESULTS: Local recurrence occurred in 12 patients (21%), nodal metastasis in 6 (11%) and distant metastasis in 2 (4%). Pathological margins>2 mm from the in situ component of the tumour were associated with increased disease-free survival (P=0.029) compared with margins≤2 mm but there was no statistically significant benefit for a pathological margin>2 mm from the invasive component. Lower eyelid melanomas were found to have a significantly higher local recurrence rate than upper eyelid melanomas (P=0.044). CONCLUSIONS: This series of cutaneous eyelid melanomas is the largest yet reported. The results suggest that, as a minimum, an in vivo surgical margin of 3 mm (corresponding to a 2 mm pathological margin after tissue fixation) is desirable for eyelid melanomas. We recommend a surgical excision margin of 3 mm for eyelid melanomas≤1 mm in Breslow thickness. However, for melanomas>1 mm in thickness, the current practice of aiming to achieve 5 mm margins would seem reasonable. Patients with lower eyelid melanomas warrant particularly close follow-up given their higher local recurrence rate.

A modified Jones test: lacrimal scintigram correlation.

PURPOSE: To determine the correlation between lacrimal scintigraphy and a modified Jones primary dye drainage test combined with the fluorescein dye disappearance test (DDT) and Jones secondary dye test, in diagnosing the cause of epiphora. METHODS: A prospective, consecutive clinical trial was conducted. All patients presenting with epiphora were considered, but those with trichiasis, corneal irritation, lower eyelid ectropion, Bell palsy, or previous lacrimal surgery were excluded. A cohort of 39 patients (65 eyes) underwent the fluorescein DDT and the senior author's (R.B.) modified Jones primary dye drainage test (Jones dye test 1 [JDT1]). For this test, an entire fluorescein 2% Minim dose was instilled in the 2 eyes, and the patient was then asked to gently blow each nostril separately in a white tissue; the degree of fluorescein staining was noted. If there was no fluorescein staining of the tissue (negative JDT1), a traditional Jones secondary dye test (Jones dye test 2) was also performed. All patients except for those testing strongly positive on modified testing or with negative DDT and JDT1 and nil drainage from the nose in Jones dye test 2, indicating anatomical obstruction, were referred for lacrimal scintigraphy. RESULTS: In total, 59 of 65 eyes (91%) showed a positive correlation between the diagnosis arrived at after dye testing using the modified primary dye test and diagnosis on lacrimal scintigraphy. The interrater reliability for the raters was found to be κ = 0.770 and 95% confidence interval = 0.594-0.945. The strength of agreement is considered to be "good." CONCLUSIONS: The authors found that in the presence of patent lacrimal drainage system dysfunction, modified Jones primary dye test, combined with the fluorescein DDT and Jones secondary dye test, correlated strongly with lacrimal scintigraphy.

Peripunctal "anchor" suture for securing the silicone bicanalicular stent in the repair of canalicular lacerations.

We used punctal absorbable suture in 8 patients (8 eyes) for silicone stent stabilization in canalicular repair surgery to prevent the postoperative complication of "cheese-wiring." Postoperatively there was 1 case of cheese-wiring of the repaired canaliculus, and no other complication related to the bicanalicular stent. The pericanalicular "anchor" suture may reduce the incidence of cheese-wiring by silicone bicanalicular stents after repair of canalicular lacerations or resections for stenosis.

Missed diagnosis of an intraorbital foreign body of surfboard origin.

Surfing is a highly popular recreational sport in Australia and other parts of the world. A significant percentage of total acute injuries in surfboarding involve the head and neck, but major orbital or ocular trauma is infrequent. Ophthalmic injuries are typically due to blunt trauma from collision with the surfboard. We describe a mechanism of surfboard injury not previously described in the published literature, which involved penetration of orbital tissues by blade-like fragments of fiberglass when the surfboard outer shell broke up on impact with the surfer. The fiberglass left a trail of fibers and resin particles as it traveled through the eyelid and orbital tissues, requiring painstaking removal and debridement to minimize the long-term effects of inflammatory reactions and scarring in the orbital tissues.