Abstract: The outcomes of modern ophthalmic surgery, especially cataract surgery, continue to improve and patients now realistically expect an excellent and speedy outcome with good vision and few complications. Social and regulatory demands for greater transparency and accountability in medicine have increased, highlighting a fundamental ethical tension in medical education—balancing the needs of trainees (who have not yet mastered the technique) to gain experience by performing surgery, with patient safety and the needs of the public to be protected from risk. Patient safety and well-being are the paramount considerations in any training program and must be the first consideration in program design. A variety of different educational strategies, each implemented with the aim of improving operative skills assessment and teaching, has recently been described in the literature. Effective use of these educational tools, combined with a structured approach to teaching and providing meaningful feedback, could improve outcomes, decrease complications and improve the quality and efficiency of surgical training in ophthalmology. Supervisors must assess their teaching style and communication, as being a good surgeon does not necessarily make a good trainer. Open disclosure must be given to patients about who will be performing the surgery, and communication during surgery between supervisors and trainees must be clear, respectful and appropriate.
Abstract: Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgeries among the elderly today. The volume of cataract surgeries has dramatically increased in the past few decades due to technological advancements leading to decreased morbidity, better overall outcomes, and increased expectation for correction of refractive error and spectacle independence after cataract surgery. The number of cataract surgeries is expected to continue to rise with the increase of the elderly population. Thus, accurate predictions of intraocular lens (IOL) power and the ability to correct for any postoperative refractive errors are critical. Despite the improved ability of cataract surgeons to accurately calculate IOL power, postoperative refractive errors still do occur due to various reasons such as imperfect preoperative measurements, toric-lens misalignment, and existing or surgically-induced astigmatism. The aim of this article is to review the various surgical options, including intraocular and corneal refractive surgical approaches, to correct post-operative refractive errors after cataract surgery.
Abstract: Intraocular foreign body residue following ophthalmic surgery is rare but may cause severe postoperative occult inflammation. In some cases, small foreign bodies located in the anterior chamber angle may be missed by follow-up ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). We report the case of an elderly female whose right eye was injured by a nail and received corneal repair surgery in our hospital. Eleven days post-surgery, we found a mobile, short, translucent, rod-shaped foreign body in the upper corner of the right eye and another in the iris root at 7 o’clock. Two months post-surgery, the patient consulted a doctor due to right eye redness, pain, and vision loss, which was ultimately shown to be associated with foreign body residue resulting in a delayed postoperative inflammatory response. The patient was cured by surgeries and active anti-inflammatory and anti-infection treatments, but the final diagnosis of the patient was infectious endophthalmitis misdiagnosed as uveitis, which worths our consideration. We also review relevant literature on the differentiation of postoperative infectious endophthalmitis from noninfectious uveitis. It’s a reminder that patients with delayed endophthalmitis after open ocular trauma should not exclude the possibility of intraocular foreign bodies. As well clinicians can distinguish infectious endophthalmitis from uveitis by needle aspiration biopsy or vitrectomy for microbial culture in order to determine the need for antibiotic treatment.
Abstract: Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that seriously threaten human visual health. Increased intraocular pressure is the main clinical manifestation and diagnostic basis of glaucoma and is directly related to increased resistance to aqueous circulation channels. The trabecular meshwork (TM) is a multi-layer spongy tissue that filters aqueous humor. Its structure changes and the filtering capacity decreases, leading to an increase in intraocular pressure. Surgical methods for TM are constantly updated. Compared with traditional glaucoma surgical techniques, such as external trabeculectomy, the development of a new surgical technique—minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS)—enables the operation to reduce intraocular pressure efficiently while further reducing damage to the eye. MIGS achieves the purpose of surgery mainly by optimizing the TM outflow pathway, uveoscleral outflow pathway, and subconjunctival outflow pathway. A new surgical instrument, the Kahook Dual Blade, appears to optimize the TM outflow pathway in the surgical technique. The Kahook Dual Blade is a new type of angle incision instrument. Because of its unique double-edged design, in the process of goniotomy, it can effectively reduce the damage to the anterior chamber angle structure and accurately remove the appropriate amount of TM so that the aqueous humor can flow out smoothly. Kahook Dual Blade goniotomy has the advantages of avoiding complications and foreign body sensation caused by intraocular implants. The operation time is relatively short, the surgical technique is easy to master, and the TM resection scope can be determined based on the patient’s condition. It can be used to treat some clinically meaningful glaucoma. This article is organized as follows. We present the following article following the Narrative Review reporting checklist.
Background: Surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) and corneal high-order aberrations (HOAs) are the two main causes of poor visual quality after cataract surgery. Changes in the parameters of corneal HOAs after cataract surgery and their effects on and relationships with changes in corneal curvature have not yet been reported. This study aimed to explore changes in anterior, posterior and total corneal curvature, astigmatism and HOAs after microincision cataract surgery.
Methods: Sixty-one age-related cataract patients (61 eyes) were included in this prospective study. The total, anterior and posterior corneal astigmatism and corneal HOAs were analyzed by anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and iTrace before, one day, one week and three months after 2.2 mm temporal microincision coaxial phacoemulsification to evaluate the changes in anterior, posterior and total corneal curvature, astigmatism and corneal HOAs.
Results: The mean J0 and J45 values of anterior, posterior and total corneal curvature obtained by AS-OCT showed no statistically significant difference between preoperatively and any postoperative follow-up. SIA occurred on the anterior, posterior and total corneal surfaces and showed no statistically significant difference at any postoperative follow-up. No significant changes in 3rd-order oblique trefoil, vertical coma or 4th-order spherical aberrations were observed after surgery except for a significant increase in horizontal coma at postoperative day 1 (POD1).
Conclusions: There were no significant changes in corneal curvature after 2.2 mm temporal microincision coaxial phacoemulsification, and the corneal HOAs were not changed significantly except for the increase in horizontal coma at POD1, which may be one of the main reasons of poor visual quality at POD1 in some cataract patients who have good uncorrected or corrected distance vision.
Background: To investigate the outcome of cataract surgery in patients with legal blindness defined as best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/1,000 or lower and to determine factors influencing the visual outcome in these patients.
Methods: Medical records of 68 eyes of 62 patients diagnosed with legal blindness and underwent cataract surgery were reviewed. The study population was divided into 3 groups based on types of cataracts (Group A: posterior subcapsular cataract, Group B: mature or brunescent cataract, and Group C: cataract combined with other ocular diseases). Data including demographics, predisposing factors, BCVA before and 6 months after surgery and post-operative complications were collected and analyzed.
Results: Mean preoperative logMAR BCVA was 1.88±0.24, 2.24±0.26 and 1.96±0.31 in Groups A, B and C, respectively (P=0.003). The postoperative BCVA was 0.49±0.35, 0.51±0.47 and 0.90±0.53 in Groups A, B and C, respectively (p=0.003). Significant improvement in BCVA was shown in all 3 groups (P<0.001 in Groups A and B and, P=0.001 in Group C). There was significant difference in the amount of visual improvement among the 3 groups, P<0.001). Although there was no significant difference in the amount of visual improvement between group A and C (P=0.379), significantly higher visual improvement was achieved in group B compared with group A (P=0.012) and C (P=0.001).
Conclusions: Cataract surgery should be encouraged for patients with legal blindness, even in the presence of other ocular disease. Significant visual recovery was observed in all the groups, particularly in those with mature or brunescent cataract.
