Search

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...

Sclerochoroidal calcification masquerading as ocular malignancy

Case 1 A 68-year-old Caucasian gentleman was urgently referred to eye casualty by his optometrist after seeing an unusual incidental finding of protruding lesions from the retina, suspecting choroidal melanoma. He was asymptomatic and this was his first eye test...

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...

Chemical injury

You are the on-call ophthalmologist. You receive a call from A&E regarding a 45-year-old man who sustained a chemical injury. He was mixing some cement, when a small amount entered his left eye. He was not wearing any protective goggles....

Cavernous sinus syndrome

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...

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...