Epiretinal Membrane and Vitreomacular Traction Associated With Vasoproliferative Tumor in Macular Telangiectasia Type 2: A Case Report.

We report a case of a 62-year-old man who presented with blurred and distorted vision in both eyes. Fundus examination revealed a fibrous band-like membrane emanating from the disc to the foveal center in the right eye, aneurysmal gray parafoveal lesions in both eyes, and an inferotemporal peripheral vascular tumor in the right eye. The presence of an epiretinal membrane with vitreomacular traction in this patient has led to the diagnosis of an incidental peripheral vascular tumor. To our knowledge, there are no reports describing an association between macular telangiectasia type 2 and epiretinal membrane formation with vitreomacular traction due to a vasoproliferative tumor.

Behavior, knowledge, and attitude of surgeons and patients toward preoperative smoking cessation.

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco smoking is a well-known risk factor for postoperative complications. Quitting smoking prior to surgery helps overcome those complications. PROBLEM: Surgeons' attention for educating their patients about the importance of smoking cessation prior to surgery is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking-related surgical complications. The extent of advised patients by their surgeons has not been identified. METHODS: A descriptive, comparative cross-sectional study using a survey was conducted in 2013 including eligible patients in King Khalid University Hospital. Simultaneously, 69 surgeons were included. All participant data were randomly collected and analyzed using Chi-square analysis. RESULTS: The frequency of smokers is more in surgical patients (37.5%) when compared to ex-smokers (12.5%) and passive smokers (8.3%), which were ex- and passive smokers, and it demonstrated an increased risk (P = 0.001) for surgery group compared to the nonsurgery group (P = 0.001). When comparing with nonsurgery group, most surgical patients agreed to quit smoking before surgery (95.3%). More than half (58.8%) of the patients said that they have been advised by their treating surgeons to quit smoking before surgery. Concerning the surgeons, 66 nonvascular and nonpediatric surgeons responded to the questionnaire (response rate: 22.83%). The majority of the surgeons (60.9%) were interacting with smoker patients. With regard to smoking cessation, 69.6% surgeons have advised smoker patients to stop smoking for more than 2 weeks before surgery. More than half of the surgeons (53.6%) believed that patients quit smoking after preoperative smoking cessation advice. CONCLUSION: The surgeons and patients who participated in this study were aware that smoking cessation improves outcomes, but most of the surgeons did not provide brief advice about time duration to stop smoking.

Purtscher-like retinopathy as a first presentation of systematic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, characterized by the involvement of multiple organ systems. Ocular involvement, being one of the manifestations, contributes to the assessment of disease activity. Purtscher-like retinopathy has been reported as a manifestation of SLE. An otherwise healthy 21-year old female presented with a bilateral rapid decrease in vision for 1 month. Fundus examination revealed multiple cotton wool spots and flame-shaped hemorrhages in both eyes. Optical coherence tomography displayed bilateral severe macular edema. Fundus fluorescein angiography showed multiple retinal arteriolar occlusions. A rheumatologist was consulted for investigation. Based on the American College of Rheumatology 1982 Revised Criteria for diagnosing SLE, a diagnosis of SLE was made. She was subsequently treated with corticosteroids and immunosuppressive medication. Although vaso-occlusive retinopathy is a rare presentation of SLE, it is significant in diagnosing SLE in a patient, to promptly initiate proper treatment.