Suncica Sreckovic

Updates on the Treatment of Pterygium

Abstract Pterygium is an ocular disease characterised by the growth of fibrovascular conjunctiva on the cornea. It occurs more often in men, at an older age, and in individuals exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Surgical treatment is the primary treatment for pterygium and there are two common procedures for pterygium excision. In the first method, the head of the pterygium is separated from the corneal surface using a surgical blade. The second method is based on avulsion. Other approaches to excising the pterygium include the use of argon laser and excimer laser. Because of a high recurrence rate, adjuvant therapies, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and graft procedures, are used after pterygium excision. These procedures have become the standard long-term treatments for pterygium. Radiotherapy is based on beta irradiation. Chemotherapy includes the use of mitomycin C, 5-fluorouracil, bevacizumab, and loteprednol etabonate. Graft procedures include amniotic membrane grafts and conjunctival autografts. Many surgeons believe that using mitomycin C and conjunctival autografts provides the best outcomes in terms of recurrence, cosmetics and patient satisfaction.

Nanotechnology in Ophthalmology

Nanotechnology has already been used for the purpose of the measurement as well as treatment of great number of ophthalmological diseases. The applications of Nanotechnology to Ophthalmology refer to the following: delivery of drugs, peptides and genes, biomedical imaging and diagnostics of distinct disorders of the eye, study of pathogenesis of the eye disease. Regenerative nanomedicine is considered to be a prospective approach for treating retinal degenerations and the second cranial nerve regeneration. Our manuscript included possible different application for ophthalmological drug using nanotechnology. Also, we described the importance of nanotechnology for imaging, diagnostic and monitoring of ocular diseases. Nanobiotechnology for glaucoma treatment, as well as nanoparticles for gene delivery therapy of retinal degenerative disease, is most attractive approach for the ophthalmological treatment.

Relentless placoid chorioretinitis: A case report

Introduction Relentless placoid chorioretinitis is an entity which belongs to the group of an atypical intermediate form of primary inflammatory choriocapillaropathies, resembling both acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy and serpiginous choroiditis, but the retinal distribution and clinical course are not the same. Because of this similarity this entity was termed “AMPPiginous”. This entity was first described by Jones et al. in 2000. The aim of our case report is to present a very specific case where the clinical course was progressive, with loss of vision in the affected eye. Case Outline A 31-year-old man, with no previous ophthalmic diseases, was hospitalized at the Clinic of Ophthalmology, Clinical Center Kragujevac, because of a reduction of vision in the right eye, and scotoma and metamorphopsia in the left eye. The clinical course of retinal lesions in the left eye resembled the changes observed in acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy, and the right eye changes were between acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy and serpiginous choroiditis. The diagnosis of relentless placoid chorioretinitis was confirmed after clinical, laboratory, immunological, virological, and angiography examinations. Conclusion The progressive clinical course of the disease, complemented by multimodal imaging and extensive laboratory diagnostics, has led us to the diagnosis of relentless placoid chorioretinitis. The combined anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory therapy led to the stabilization of visual acuity of the left eye as opposed to the right, where there has been no recovery.

Comparison of Biometric Values and Intraocular Lens Power Calculations Obtained by Ultrasound and Optical Biometry

Abstract This study sought to compare the biometric values and intraocular lens (IOL) power obtained by standard ultrasound and optical biometry. We examined 29 eyes in preparation for cataract surgery. None of the patients had refractive surgery or corneal anomaly. In all patients, the horizontal and vertical refractive power of the cornea was determined using a keratometer (Bausch&Lomb). The axial length of the eye was determined via A-scan ultrasound (BVI-compact-V-plus) using Hollady’s formula. The IOL power and complete biometric measurements were obtained via an IOL Master-500-Zeiss using the Hollady-2 formula. All obtained values were compared and analysed using the statistical program SPSS 20. The average age of treated patients was 71.21±1.68 years. In 16 patients with dense cataracts (55.17%), it was not possible to determine the IOL power by optical biometry. Optical biometry obtained significantly increased axial length values of 24.04±0.29 mm compared with those obtained with ultrasound biometry (23.89±0.28 mm, p=0.003). The mean refractive cornea power values of the horizontal meridian measured using a keratometer (42.50±0.47 D) and an IOL Master (42.69±0.49 D) were not statistically different (p=0.187). The mean values of the refractive cornea power of the vertical meridian obtained using a keratometer (42.62±0.48D) and an IOL Master (43.36±0.51 D) exhibited a statistically significant difference (p=0.000). The keratometer obtained statistically significant lower mean values of corneal refractive power (42.73±0.32 D) compared with those obtained with optical biometry (43.22±0.35 D, p=0.000). Ultrasound biometry obtained significantly increased the mean values of IOL power (20.19±0.48D) compared with those obtained with optical biometry (19.71±0.48 D, p=0.018). The large number of patients who receive an operation for dense cataracts indicate the need for representation of both biometric methods in our clinical practice.

Laryngeal Manifestation of Forestier's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Forestier’s disease is a rare disorder involving bony growths that can occur in various parts of the spinal column, mostly asymptomatic, but these osteophytes, very rarely have been associated with serious complications. AIM: We report a 69-year-old man who was admitted at foniatric departement for evaluation of presenting hoarseness, dysphagia and laborious breathing. CASE PRESENTATION: Noninvasive endolaryngeal imaging and radiological examination revealed distortion of left side of the larynx pushing to the right due to bony mass of the anterior part of cervical spine which was prominent at the left side. The symptoms of the patient presented were caused by Forestier’s disease as found by the imiging. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice it is advisable to take into consideration Forestier’s disease as a possible cause of hoarseness and dysphagia in rare cases.

Comparison of primary medicament therapy effects and primary argon laser trabeculoplasty on regulation of intraocular pressure and stability of perimetry findings in open angle glaucoma

INTRODUCTION/AIM Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty (ALT) is a recognized method for reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open angle glaucoma. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of primary medicament therapy and primary ALT on IOP regulation and stability of perimetry findings. METHODS A total of 50 eyes of 35 patients were treated with primary ALT while 50 eyes of 36 patients were treated with primary medicament therapy with 0.5% timolol with 20, 0.005% latanoprost 18 and with 2% dorzolamid 12 eyes. IOP was controled at 3 months, and the visual field at 6 months during a 30-month follow-up period. RESULTS In the first 24 months of follow-up there was no statistically significant difference in percentage of eyes with successfully regulated IOP. At 27th and 30th month, in the group primarily treated with medicaments a statistically significant higher percentage of successfully regulated IOP was observed in 98%, and 96% of the eyes, respectively, while in the group primarily treated with ALT the decline in the percentage of successfully regulated IOP was observed in 78% and 76% of the eyes, (chi2-test, p = 0.002, p = 0.140). Both therapy groups showed stability of perimetry findings without statistically significant difference in the values of mean deviation (MD) index until the end of the monitoring period. The dynamics of change in MD index value showed a statistically significant greater decline in this parameter in subjects who had been primarily treated with medications during the last six months of follow-up, (two-factor analysis of variance with a repeated measurement, factor of time x type of therapy, p = 0.030). CONCLUSION Primary ALT equally successfully regulates IOP and restores stability of perimetry findings in patients with open angle glaucoma like the primary medicament therapy.