Ocular Oncology Basics: Diagnosis of Intraocular Malignancies
“Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future.” Hippocrates In this section, I will deal with various diagnostic methods which are common in practice for the diagnosis of mainly Intraocular malignancies. Diagnostic modalities used for extraocular malignancies will be considered in the respective chapters. 1.History Even though the twenty-first century has seen a boom in the diagnost...Read More
Ocular Oncology Basics: Salient Points from The Pandora's Box
RETINOBLASTOMA Grouping: Clinical determination of the extent of disease with the focus being the eye. It is a preoperative evaluation with the main outcome being the salvagable status of vision or the eye. Staging: It combines clinical, various imaging, and post-operative histopathological results to determine the extent of the disease. The main outcome is focused on the survival of the patient. ...Read More
Ocular Oncology Basics: Genetics
Twenty first century has seen a giant leap in the understanding of human genetics. Based on the human genome project humans are supposed to have roughly 20,000 to 25,000 genes. Genes are the fundamental units of heredity. To understand genetics involved in various ocular pathologies a basic understanding is essential. The following discussion will provide an overview of basic concepts in genetics ...Read More
Ocular Oncology Basics: Treatment Strategies In Intraocular Malignancies
“Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul.” Jim Valvano Treating malignancies I believe, brings the true human spirit forward of the treating physician. Breaking the news of malignancy to a patient is as heartbreaking for the physician as it is for the patient. Yet the doctor must keep his feelings aside and d...Read More
Introduction A pterygium is a fibrovascular, wing-shaped encroachment of the conjunctiva onto the cornea, usually in the horizontal meridian of the palpebral fissure. Histopathology shows hyaline degeneration with elastotic proliferation. Risk factors Exposure to ultraviolet light and environmental microtrauma to the ocular surface is thought to predispose to pterygium formation. A localized limba...Read More
Introduction: Keratoconus is a degenerative non-inflammatory disease of the cornea. It presents generally at puberty with progressive corneal steepening & thinning, most typically inferior to the center of the cornea. Keratoconus is characterized by progressive Myopia, both regular and irregular astigmatism in mild cases and vision compromising ectasia in advanced disease. It is usually bilateral ...Read More
Tracking, collecting, organizing, reading, and assimilating the relevant references is an integral process of any scientific research. But this process is laborious when done manually. Hence was the development of reference management softwares (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, etc.) for the digitalization of relevant scholarly materials and facilitating the process of managing references. Reference man...Read More
How to Present a Case of Corneal Ulcer in the Examination
1. Obtain a detailed history : a. A history of injury and the injuring agent - some pointers from this would be the occurrence of fungal infections in injuries with vegetable matter/insect wing cases; bacillus infections in patients with broomstick injuries; gram-positive infections with metal foreign bodies and so on b. A history of past such similar episodes - typically, this suggests the possib...Read More
Techniques of nuclear delivery in Manual small incision cataract surgery
Manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) is now practiced in both developed and developing countries. It involves the extraction of a complete or divided nucleus from the capsular bag through the capsular opening and then through the sclero-corneal tunnel. A number of techniques of nuclear delivery have evolved over the time. These techniques have their own merits and demerits. However they ...Read More
Ten Pearls for the Management of Posterior Capsular Rupture
Posterior capsular rupture (PCR) is an important complication of cataract surgery whose timely recognition and appropriate management can ensure a good visual outcome. Here are ten pearls for its prevention and management. Pearl 1: Understand the risk/predisposing factors It is imperative to assess the preoperative and intra-operative risk to prevent the development of a PCR. Elderly, anxious, and...Read More