Corneal Dystrophy: A Ready Reckoner for Postgraduates
Corneal dystrophies are classically defined as a group of inherited disorders of the cornea which is bilateral, symmetric, slowly progressive, and not related to any environmental or systemic factors.1,2 Most of the corneal dystrophies begin in the early decades of life and progress gradually. The effect of these changes in some of the dystrophies may not be clinically apparent till the later year...Read More
Therapeutic Keratoplasty : A Comprehensive Review
Microbial keratitis is a common vision-threatening disease that occurs in all parts of the world and is an important cause of avoidable corneal blindness. Medical therapy is considered a mainstay in the management of microbial keratitis, however, cases that worsen despite medical therapy or have perforation require surgical management1. Therapeutic keratoplasty is a surgical procedure whose primar...Read More
A Postgraduate's Guide To Tonometry
Tonometry is the procedure for the measurement of intraocular pressure. It is the most important risk factor for the development and progression of glaucoma. It is the only factor that can be treated and modified in the management of glaucoma. Therefore, the need for accurate and reproducible measurement of IOP is of utmost importance. Clinical measurement of IOP has undergone several technical ad...Read More
Ten Tips to Achieve a Complete Curvilinear Capsulorhexis
1. See clearly: Focus the microscope in such a way that the anterior capsule is exactly in focus. Low magnification would help in increasing depth perception, even though things don’t appear grossly magnified. Even if the patient moves the eye a little, things don’t go out of focus. 2. Stain if needed: If the red glow is not very clearly seen, and the cut end of the anterior capsular flap may not ...Read More
Ten Tips for Youngsters to Increase Proficiency in Phacoemulsification
Phacoemulsification, like any other surgery, comes with its learning curve. Here are some pearls, from my experience, to help you ‘shorten’ and ‘Flatten the curve’. 1. Believe in yourself: The first step to successfully doing anything in life is to believe in yourself. Believe you can and you are half way there. 2. Observe, Observe, Observe & Learn I am a firm believer of this quote by Marilyn vos...Read More
Ten Tenets of Fundus Autofluorescence
1. What is fundus autofluorescence? Fundus autofluorescence is a study of the topographic distribution of naturally occurring molecules in the human fundus. These molecules are called fluorophores. In principle, FAF is similar to fundus fluorescein angiography as both of them study the fluorescence pattern of molecules. However, the fluorophore molecules are naturally occurring compounds in the fo...Read More
Glaucoma in Pseudophakia And Aphakia
Glaucoma in pseudophakia and aphakia is secondary glaucoma in which intraocular pressure (IOP) is elevated following cataract removal. This diagnosis is given only if there was no glaucoma prior to cataract removal.[1] The terms aphakic and pseudophakic glaucoma have been previously used in literature. Currently, this terminology is not preferred. Glaucoma in pseudophakia and aphakia refer to cond...Read More
To most of us, computers have become an irreplaceable necessity in our lives at work and at home. Working on the computer screen at such a short distance can result in eyestrain, blurred vision, redness, irritation of eyes, and posture-related musculoskeletal problems, which is called Computer vision syndrome or digital eye strain. Definition The American Association of Optometrists defines Comput...Read More
Intermittent Exotropia Simplified for the Postgraduates
Intermittent exotropia (IXT) is the most common type of strabismus in children as well as adults, especially in the Asian and South Asian populations. Owing to the intermittent nature of exotropia there is usually good binocular function and stereoacuity at near fixation Small-angle exotropia is observed in normal neonates which usually disappears by the age of 2-4 months. Most adults will have sm...Read More
Instruments used in Corneal Procedures and Surgeries
Although tales and myths of ocular surgery and organ transplantation appear in numerous ancient texts, the earliest accounts of ophthalmic diseases were written as a treatise by Sushruta, in the 6th century BC. Sushruta described 76 eye diseases, out of which 51 required surgical treatment. In the western world, the concepts of corneal surgery date back to Greek physician Galen (130-200AD). The co...Read More