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The results of the last survey Apr21

There was a really fascinating response to the last edition’s practice variance survey. Strictly speaking, I cheated and this was not really about practice variation, but more about your impressions about what represents negligent practice. For the first time ever,...

Doctor prints cornea on demand!

Simerdip Kaur takes a look at the latest ophthalmology-related news stories and asks which are based on facts and which are ‘fake news’. Headline: Doctor prints cornea on demand! Dr Hideo Kodama from the Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute first...

Acute retinal necrosis presumably caused by Epstein-Barr virus infection

Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is an uncommon, but serious and potentially blinding condition. ARN is characterised by panuveitis, occlusive vasculopathy and progressive peripheral necrotising retinitis. The diagnosis is clinical but confirmation is sought via aqueous and vitreous sampling. Varicella zoster...

Melanocytoma of the optic disc

Melanocytoma is a heavily pigmented lesion, composed of melanocytes and is a variant of melanocytic naevus. It classically occurs at the optic disc and is usually benign, static and asymptomatic. However, it can occasionally grow and invade the retina or...

Macular imagery: observing the visual sensations pre- and post-Jetrea injections

A 63-year-old woman, a professional painter, was diagnosed with vitreomacular traction (VMT) in 2017. She had a history of metamorphopsia, drop in visual acuity (VA) in the left eye (6/6 in the RE; 6/18 in the LE), foveal vitreomacular traction...

Bosch-Boonstro-Schaaff optic atrophy syndrome (BBSOAS) NR2F1 mutation

An experienced ophthalmologist can make an anatomical diagnosis of childhood visual impairment based upon the surgical sieve, i.e., congenital and acquired. But an ophthalmologist cannot work in isolation to make an aetiological diagnosis – one would require the help of...

Lines, dots, spots and rings in ophthalmology: understanding eponyms

Eponymous names are familiar to all who have undergone undergraduate and postgraduate training in medicine. The ability to name a few allows one to stand out among your peers and rare, or not so rare, eponymous syndromes are a favourite...

Optimising an acute eye service in the current COVID-19 crisis

With the current global pandemic of COVID-19 we have all had to redesign and reorganise our normal working practices. Non-urgent hospital work has been postponed to allow redistribution of resources, redeployment of hospital staff and to reduce the risk of...

How a calcified Soemmerring ring was removed from the vitreous cavity when the cutter and forceps failed to do so

Know’st thou the land where lemon-trees do bloom,And oranges like gold in leafy gloom; A gentle wind from deep blue heaven blows, The myrtle thick, and high the laurel grows? ‘Tis there! ‘tis there, O my beloved one, I with...

Preventing refractive surprises by real time biometry during cataract surgery

A few months ago a retired lady presented for second eye cataract surgery. I noted on the pre-op ward round that the outcome of her first eye’s surgery looked like a refractive surprise as her spherical equivalent in that eye...

Strange Sequelae Succeeding ‘Surfer’s Eye’

Ophthalmologists in the UK are relatively infrequently faced with a patient requesting surgery for a pterygium. This condition is more common where ultraviolet exposure is greater, especially if coupled with activities associated with ocular surface irritation. For this reason, a...