History A 40-year-old swimming instructor undergoes an enucleation for a blind painful eye. There is a history of soft contact lens wear. She has had a corneal abscess and corneal graft procedures in the past. Questions 1. What does this...
History A 45-year-old man presents with left-sided epiphora. During a dacrocystorhinostomy (DCR), the wall of the lacrimal sac was noted to be bulky. The sac wall is biopsied and sent for routine histopathology examination. The pathologist notes a distinctive feature...
New evidence from an evaluation carried out by Helpforce for Friends of Moorfields shows that a volunteer’s support can help patients while they have eye surgery under local anaesthetic. 94% say the support helped them feel less anxious.
Anatomically the cavernous sinus is a plexus of multiple veins that are connected and within this plexus there are several important vascular and neurological structures. These include cranial nerves III, IV, V1 (and sometimes V2), VI as well as the...
Will ophthalmology recover from COVID-19? Learning Curve columnist Gwyn Samuel Williams shares his thoughts on the developing impact of the pandemic “It’s busy today,” the nurse in green chuckles. “There are six patients I think.” Six. This clinic is designed...
The consent process is a vital part of the patient pathway and is far more than just getting the patient to sign on the dotted line. In my work in litigation I often see issues around informed consent resulting in...
I loved attending RCOphth Annual Congress face-to-face in Glasgow this year. How wonderful it was to see old friends and meet new after two pandemic years. At Congress I chaired the session on ‘Racism in the NHS’ with ‘three professors’...
Retired bus driver and keen archer Roger Kent is feeling grateful for his improved quality of life after undergoing successful cataract surgery at Freedom Vision in Bolton.
The Medical Defence Union (MDU) runs courses on various medicolegal topics. I would guess people only ever attend these courses if they have an exam or an interview approaching as the subject matter is exceedingly dry for clinicians. I myself...
Trying to spot the trends at this year’s SILMO in Paris, one of the largest optical fairs in the world, was a tough ask. Thin metals, especially in rose gold, abounded, but that’s now; tomorrow remained elusive.
The UK has four healthcare systems; Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each has autonomous legislature that develops health policy, while the UK government directly runs England’s NHS. Like the other nations, Northern Ireland is continually challenged to meet the needs...
Trinkets of adult wisdom are often delivered to children alongside warnings of catastrophic outcomes. In this article we present five ‘facts’ about eye health and vision and ask the question: to what extent are these ideas backed up by literature?...