Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A is a key mediator of angiogenesis. The discovery of VEGF-A, like many other major discoveries in medicine, happened partly by observations and partly by chance. Napoleone Ferrara and his team were working on a population of non-hormone-secreting cells from the anterior pituitary of cows. (1) One day Ferrara mixed some isolates from cultures of follicular...Read More
Articles
Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscopy : The Beginner's Guide
The technique of examining the fundus of the eye is called ophthalmoscopy. In direct ophthalmoscopy, a virtual and erect image of the fundus is seen. In indirect ophthalmoscopy, a real and inverted image is formed between the condensing lens and the observer. The advantage of stereopsis (depth perception) and a larger field of view makes indirect ophthalmoscope (IDO) more useful both in retina cli...Read More
Ten Tips for Managing a Case of Postoperative Endophthalmitis
1. Suspect : Any unusual post-operative reaction ( out of proportion to surgical trauma ) should be suspected for Endophthalmitis. 2. Differentiate from TASS : All unusual post-operative reactions may not be infective; Pointers towards Toxic Anterior Segment Syndrome could include: Early onset of Limbus to limbus corneal edema with good fundus glow and no exudates in the vitreous cavity. The prese...Read More
ILM Peeling Simplified - Ten Tips for the Beginners
1 How to choose the right cases to start Idiopathic macular hole in non-myopic eye is a good case. ILM comes off as a single sheet and underlying retina is healthy. Same applies to traumatic macular holes. Beginners can also start peeling ILM in eyes with epiretinal membrane. Unsuccessful peeling may not jeopardize the long-term outcome significantly here. Peeling ILM for Myopic macular holes or i...Read More
Learn from the Masters : Tips and Tricks of Vitreoretinal Surgery
“If you are brave enough to start the right way, you will be strong enough to finish at the right place.” The most crucial aspect of vitreoretinal surgery is learning it the right way. And if you have the guidance of teachers with experiences of a lifetime, there is an abundant pool of knowledge you can extract. Plenty of young VR surgeons are facing difficulties in the basic principles and doctri...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
A slit-lamp is a binocular microscope used for eye examination using a slit-like light beam. In 1911, Allvar Gullstrand a Swedish Ophthalmologist designed table-mounted binocular eyepiece for 3-dimensional visualization of optically clear eye structures. Later Otto Henker, combined Gullstrand slit lamp with Czapski’s binocular microscope resulting in first slit lamp biomicroscope, allowing hand-fr...Read More
Ten Pearls for Performing Vitrectomy in Diabetic Retinopathy
Important terms: Truncation: To relieve all the surrounding traction 360 degree Segmentation: Dividing a larger membranes/FVP into smaller islands of FVP by 360-degree truncation around them. Delamination: Separation of these membranes/FVP from the retinal surface to which they are firmly adherent by creating a plane of dissection between them. Pearl #1 When not to perform vitrectomy in diabetic r...Read More
Visual Electrophysiology Made Simple for the Postgraduates
Visual electrophysiology is an extremely useful tool to study the retinal function objectively. It assesses the functional aspects of not only the retina but also the visual pathway as a whole. Even in this era of advanced imaging, one cannot ignore the importance of the functional aspects of the cellular network in the retina. The commonly used tests with their salient applications are enumerated...Read More
Clinical Applications of Multicolor Imaging
Multicolor imaging (MCI) is a non-invasive retinal imaging modality available in the Spectralis platform (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). It simultaneously acquires three reflectance images of the retina using three individual lasers of different wavelengths: blue (488 nm), green (515 nm), and infrared (820 nm). These penetrate the tissue to different depths, simultaneously capturing...Read More