Dr. Amanda Mohanan

Darshan Eye Care & Surgical Centre, Chennai

8 articles

Dr Amanda Mohanan is currently pursuing a uvea fellowship at Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. She has completed her MS from Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur in 2014. Subsequently, she has undergone fellowship in cataract surgery from Ahalia Eye Institute, Palakkad, medical retina from Giridhar Eye Institute, Kochi, and cornea and ocular surface from Darshan Eye Care, Chennai. She was awarded FICO in 2016 and MRCS Ed in 2019. She also holds an MBA in health care services and a PG diploma in Medicolegal studies.

  1. Articles 1 Apr 2021 10 min read

    Ten Pearls for Descemet's Membrane Detachment Repair

    1. Embryology Understanding the embryological development of the cornea helps us appreciate the reasons for a Descemet's membrane (DM) detachment during surgery. After the lens vesicle separates from the surface epithelium, a wave of mesenchyme forms the primary corneal stroma. A second wave then forms the endothelium, which secretes the DM. The DM, hence, has a potential plane of separation from the corneal stroma, which we use to our benefit in DMEK surgery and which works against us in an inadvertent DM detachment. Throughout the life of an individual, the DM thickens as the posterior non-banded layer is secreted by the endothelium. The anterior fetal banded layer tends to remain the same. However, in most instances, the separation happens between the DM and the cornea stroma1. The thickness of the DM varies between 10 and 15 microns, increasing with age. DM does not regenerate after any damage2. 2. Cataract Surgery and DM Detachment A post-cataract DM detachment occurs in 0.26% of

  2. Articles 1 Apr 2021 14 min read

    Corneal Trauma and its Management

    Introduction The cornea is prone to a variety of injuries by virtue of its location as the window of the eye. Apart from chemical injuries, physical trauma to the cornea can range from epithelial abrasions to loss of integrity of the stroma. Corneal injuries of this nature can occur in two distinct populations – in young children from play-related activities, and in young adults from due to their work environment. Although the general principles of management are not too different, special consideration in the pediatric population must be given to the timing of appropriate surgical interventions as the developing visual system in children is prone to amblyopic visual loss. Males are usually more prone to ocular injury than females; this is seen clearly in children, while the ratio of boys vs girls involved in accidents with ocular trauma is 4:1 [1]. The injuries can be caused by large blunt objects often resulting in ruptures of other parts of the ocular coats as well. On the other han

  3. Articles 1 Apr 2021 11 min read

    Ten Tenets One Should know on Conjunctival Hooding

    Ocular surface anatomy The ocular surface, in a strict sense, consists of the cornea and its major support tissue, the conjunctiva. In a wider anatomical, embryological, and also functional sense, the ocular mucosal adnexa (i.e. the lacrimal gland and the lacrimal drainage system) also belong to the ocular surface. The ocular surface occupies approximately 2.2 cm2 of the human body surface area [1]. The homeostasis of this small area is, however, extremely important for clear vision and comfort. The cornea is one of the most densely innervated structures in the body and hence, surface changes can result in significant discomfort apart from vision loss. The clarity and tectonic integrity of the cornea are maintained by a number of mechanisms, and one of the most important of these is the intactness of the surface epithelium. The limbus provides a constant source of epithelial cells to maintain the normal turnover of the corneal surface but can be impacted by multiple noxious influences

  4. Articles 1 Apr 2021 11 min read

    Ten Tenets on Corneal Collagen Crosslinking

    Corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) is a minimally invasive procedure that is currently the gold standard treatment to arrest the progression of corneal ectatic conditions. It promotes the induction of crosslinks in stromal collagen of the cornea, thereby strengthening and stiffening the cornea in ectatic conditions. 1.HISTORY It was observed that corneas in diabetic patients were stiffer due to the natural crosslinking occurring from glycosylation and hence had a lower incidence of keratoconus. Based on this observation, various experiments were conducted to crosslink the cornea manually using chemical agents and sugar aldehydes. Following multiple trials, it was found that this could be safely done by making use of the photochemical reaction induced by the absorption of UV light by riboflavin.1 The first in vivo study was done by Wollensak et al., and they reported in 2003 that CXL was effective in stopping the progression of moderate to advanced progressive keratoconus, in 23 eyes f

  5. Articles 1 Apr 2021 14 min read

    Ten Pearls for The Management of Pseudophakic Corneal Edema

    Corneal edema refers to the accumulation of excess fluid in the corneal layers, with a loss of corneal clarity, resulting in vision loss. The normal cornea maintains a state of 78% hydration due to a complex interplay between stromal swelling pressure, the barrier function of the epithelium and endothelium, endothelial pump, tear evaporation and intraocular pressure [1]. Any condition that interferes with this balance causes a loss of homeostasis and accumulation of fluid. 1. The Natural History of Corneal Edema In the early stages of corneal edema, reduced vision is often related to an irregular corneal surface and can interfere significantly with daily activities. This impact on vision is often underestimated by quantitative visual acuity measurements in standard lighting conditions using high contrast charts, as in a refracting lane. Initially, these patients often experience blurred vision on awakening, owing to the accumulation of fluid in the closed eye state during sleep. As the

  6. Interesting Reads 1 Apr 2021 9 min read

    Ten Tips on Textbooks to Thrive in Ophthalmology

    At the very outset, please allow us to congratulate you on having chosen to specialize in ophthalmology. Welcome to this fascinating world! Most of us breeze through ophthalmology during our MBBS by reading either Parsons or any other textbook available out there which suits us. Unlike, say medicine, where we are familiar with books like Harrison's, in ophthalmology, we find it rarely necessary to venture beyond the essential texts, unless perhaps for a seminar preparation or the like. As a result, today, as the newly joined ophthalmology resident, it is perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed, and a bit lost when you enter the library and see the whole world of ophthalmic literature available. So, we thought it would be a good idea to make a list of textbooks to help the beginner navigate this world. Of course, each one of us is unique, and we have different learning styles. We have tried to curate a list of the 'most popular' books and it is far from complete, let alone perfect. But ple