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The results of the last survey Oct22

I thank everyone for their time in responding to this edition’s survey questions. The first question relates to an issue I have previously discussed around consent for second eye cataract surgery. I touch on this point again for two reasons....

The results of the last survey Jun22

Thank you once more for your time in answering the latest survey. The first question relates to the number of staff required for a routine cataract list. There was a big variance in practice. Some of us are luckier than...

Myopia-related strabismus – heavy eye syndrome

Introduction Myopia can be associated with any type of strabismus, but high myopia has increased frequency of esotropia and vertical heterotropia. The incidence and severity of the strabismus increases with the degree of myopia and age of the patient. Classification...

Supranuclear ocular motility disorders

Figure 1: Bilateral INO Introduction Complex ocular motility disorders are a diagnostic challenge. These patients come with very complex ocular motility presentations and require a careful and detailed assessment in order to find the correct diagnosis and arrange appropriate investigations....

Surgical strategies to manage incomitant strabismus in adults

Incomitant vertical and / or horizontal strabismus is a challenging presentation. Patients are usually symptomatic as the onset is either sudden so they haven’t developed any coping mechanisms or very complex so that any coping mechanisms will not cover all...

How to nearly (but not quite) get into ST1 ophthalmology training – some reflections

Ophthalmology is often considered to be an elite, highly competitive specialty, with little room for failure. Candidates and trainees tend to cultivate a certain urbane and confident style, and the bottleneck at ST1 can feel rather intense. The majority of...

Neurofibromatosis type 2 – diagnosis, features and MDT approach

NF2 is a genetic condition caused by mutation in a single gene (NF2 gene) on chromosome 22. The NF2 gene provides instructions to produce a protein called merlin, also known as schwannomin. This protein functions as a tumour suppressor, preventing...

It’s not always GCA

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is an immune mediated granulomatous inflammatory disease that affects muscular middle or large sized arteries. It is considered as a continuation of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) when the severity of the disease has increased. It is the...

Non-organic visual loss

Patients can present to eye departments with various signs and symptoms (mostly symptoms) with no obvious organic cause. These patients can be labelled with any of a wide range of diagnoses such as functional visual loss, functional overlay, psychosomatic reaction...

What not to miss in neuro-ophthalmology Part 1

Neuro-ophthalmology is a complex and difficult subspecialty in ophthalmology. It has several connections to neurology, neuro-surgery, rheumatology as well as many other medical specialties. Working in an multidisciplinary team (MDT) environment is key to success in this subspecialty as mistakes...

Covidiot quiz

I like to read, but on account of the COVID-19 pandemic have probably read more over the past two years than ever before. One of the books that resonated the most was called The 900 Days and was about the...

Email

One of the great disasters of becoming a consultant ophthalmologist is the massive increase in emails that then occurs. Every time I open my inbox in work it seems complete luck whether there are 50 or 90 emails waiting avidly...