To determine the prevalence of second-eye senile cataract surgery (SECS) as a proportion of all senile cataract surgeries and the trend in the interval between first and second cataract operations in a main referral and academic eye hospital.In this cross-sectional study, a list of patients who underwent senile cataract surgery over four consecutive years (2006-2009) was retrieved from hospital computer-based records as the sampling frame. With a systematic random method, 15% of records were selected (1,585 out of 10,517 records).First- and second-eye operations were performed in 1,139 (71.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 69.5-74.1) and 446 eyes (28.1%; 95% CI, 25.9-30.35), respectively. The proportion of SECS procedures increased from 24.3% in 2006 to 33.4% in 2009 (P = 0.017). The median (interquartile range) interval between the two operations was 9 (4-24) months, which remained stable during the study period. The SECS rate was 10.4% higher (P = 0.01) and the time interval was 13 months shorter (P = 0.007) in patients who underwent phacoemulsification than extracapsular cataract extraction.The number of cataract operations in this tertiary eye care setting increased 1.5 fold over the study period. The proportion of second-eye operations also rose from 1/4 to 1/3 during the same time.

Nowadays, cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in the Netherlands. This is due to the increasing incidence of cataracts, the changing indication for surgery in our society where good vision is becoming increasingly important, and the quality of the operation. How was this modern procedure developed? Cataracts were treated by couching until the middle of the 18th century. Since then, many discoveries by a number of doctors changed the procedure gradually from couching to lens extraction and through extracapsular to intracapsular extraction with the simultaneous implantation of an intraocular lens. This article outlines the development and also discusses some of the many inventions in the field of instrumentation and materials that have brought this intervention to its current high level; these include the cryo-probe, implantation of artificial lenses, the use of hyaluronic acid, phaco-emulsification, smaller incisions without sutures and the development of foldable intraocular lenses.

Nucleus extraction in manual sutureless extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) using the 2-hook technique is described. After capsulorhexis and hydrodissection are performed, the nucleus is moved into the anterior chamber and extracted by pulling with a Sinskey hook and pressuring the scleral bed with a Kuglen hook. In a series of 1320 eyes, 85% achieved a corrected visual acuity of 5/10 or better postoperatively. Complications were posterior capsule rupture, vitreous loss, and transient corneal edema. Manual sutureless ECCE using the 2-hook technique is safe and efficient and does not require expensive instrumentation.

In this paper, we report our experience of the clinical features of single and repeated globe rupture after penetrating keratoplasty.We undertook a retrospective analysis of single and repeated globe ruptures following keratoplasty in eight eyes from seven consecutive patients referred to Kanazawa University Hospital over a 10-year period from January 2002 to March 2012. We analyzed their ophthalmic and demographic data, including age at time of globe rupture, incidence, time interval between keratoplasty and globe rupture, cause of rupture, complicated ocular damage, and visual outcome after surgical repair.Five patients (71.4%) experienced a single globe rupture and two patients (28.6%) experienced repeated globe ruptures. Patient age at the time of globe rupture was 75.4 ± 6.8 (range 67-83) years. Four of the patients were men and three were women. During the 10-year study period, the incidence of globe rupture following penetrating keratoplasty was 2.8%. The time interval between penetrating keratoplasty and globe rupture was 101 ± 92 months (range 7 months to 23 years). The most common cause of globe rupture in older patients was a fall (n = 5, 79.8 ± 3.7 years, all older than 67 years). Final best-corrected visual acuity was >20/200 in three eyes (37.5%). In all except one eye, globe rupture involved the graft-host junction; in the remaining eye, the rupture occurred after disruption of the extracapsular cataract extraction wound by blunt trauma.Preventative measures should be taken to avoid single and repeated ocular trauma following penetrating keratoplasty.

To report the incidence and causes of cataract surgery cancellations in a public hospital.This is a retrospective study, which examined the number of cancellations of cataract surgery during 2009. We analyzed the type of procedure suspended (phacoemulsification or extracapsular extraction), type of anesthesia, gender, age, covenant (public/private) and the main reasons for suspension of the surgeries (clinical causes, institutional or personal).We analyzed 2,965 scheduled cataract surgeries, with 650 cancellations (21.92%). The main reason for the suspension of the procedure was clinical causes (86.90%). The winter months had the highest suspension rates of cataract surgery.The cancellation rate of cataract surgery in Brazilian public system seems to be the same as 10 years ago. The main cause of the suspension should be in clinical conditions (hypertension, diabetes, lack of exams, etc.).

It is generally accepted that Jacques Daviel introduced in the 18th century the extracapsular technique of extraction of the lens while the couching method of cataract operation had already been practiced since ancient times. Present study analyses the first known cataract surgery description in three translations into English from the original Sanskrit Sushruta textbook and all the available literature on the subject. We found evidences that some sort of extraocular expulsion of lens material through a limbal puncture (paracentesis) was described by the Indian surgeon. Nevertheless, this incision cannot be considered as a classic extracapsular procedure because it was not large enough to allow the extraction of the entire lens.

A prospective, non-randomised, transversal and comparative study, carried out in INOVA Vision Institute and Autonomous University of Aguascalientes. Pterygium is an important illness that affects 22% people from tropic and equatorial zones. Is an inflammatory process caused by UV rays, and it has a behavior similar to a neoplasm. For this study was taken into consideration 191 samples from the INOVA Vision Institute, Aguascalientes, Mexico. Include 73 pterygia samples, which were obtained during resection under sterile conditions. 44 normal conjunctiva samples were obtained from the same patients when harvesting the conjunctival autograft, or from other patients undergoing extracapsular cataract extraction from the superior bulbar region. Tears from patients with pterygium (n = 50) and normal volunteers (n = 24) were obtained using a calibrated glass micro capillary tube. The surgical conjunctiva and pterygia samples were subjected to reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Tears were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.This was a prospective, non-randomised study involving 191 biological samples taken from patients with pterygium and normal volunteers, whom were operated under local anaesthesia by either complete resection of the lesion with primary closure, or resection with conjunctival autograft. Tissue samples were fixed in 10% formaldehyde. Sections were routinely stained with hematoxylin and eosin. HCC expression was evaluated by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunohistochemistry, and by western blotting. All tears samples were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).Expression levels and distribution patterns of HCC in normal conjunctiva and pterygium. Higher levels of HCC mRNAs and proteins were detected in pterygium compared with a normal conjunctiva. Immunohistochemistry revealed that HCC was localized in the apical cells of the epithelium in the normal conjunctiva. In contrast, HCC was detected in all extension of epithelial tissue, from apical to basal cells in pterygia. The concentration of HCC protein in tears was higher in patients with pterygium versus controls.HCC may play an important role in protecting normal conjunctiva, and regulating inflammatory conditions of the anterior ocular surface.

To determine the visual outcomes achieved in terms of efficacy and safety during a mass eye surgery campaign in a low-income developing country.Three hundred fifteen eyes of 305 patients underwent extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation in a prospective, analytical, experimental, and nonrandomized study on patients who underwent cataract surgery during the campaign that two Spanish nongovernmental organizations conducted in December 2008 in a district hospital in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso).Mean age was 61.97 ± 14.39 years. The mean uncorrected distance visual acuity before surgery was 2.17 ± 0.7 (20/3000), which improved to 0.86 ± 0.64 logMAR (20/150) 3 months after cataract surgery. The mean spherical equivalent at 3 months was -0.87 ± 1.90 diopters. The corrected distance visual acuity was 0.52 ± 0.44 logMAR (20/60) 3 months after surgery, 68.7% of the patients had good visual outcomes, and 9.16% had poor outcomes. A total of 41.4% of the operated eyes showed a spherical equivalent within ± 1.00 diopter of emmetropia. The most common intraoperative complication was posterior capsule rupture (incidence, 2.9%, 9 of 315), and the most serious complication was expulsive hemorrhage (incidence, 0.3%, 1 of 315). Three months after surgery, 2.9% (9 of 315) of the eyes was affected by posterior capsular opacity.A mass cataract campaign performed in a developing country with the proper technique and standardized protocols of action improved the visual outcome of the patients. The rate of incidence of extracapsular extractions is comparable to that estimated for developed countries.

The treatment of cataract blindness is surgical, allowing restored vision. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional results of cataract surgery in adults in a tertiary care referral center.Prospective study of 2012 eyes operated for adult cataract from September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010 (12 months). The results were analyzed by the Monitoring Cataract Surgical Outcomes software (MCSO). The postoperative functional data and the causes of poor outcomes were identified.A total of 1044 women (51.9%) and 968 men (48.1%) underwent cataract surgery. Mean age was 65 years. Extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE), and manual sutureless small incision cataract surgery (SICS) with posterior chamber IOL implantation in 98%, were the main surgical techniques. Functional results indicated that 45.5% of our patients had good visual acuity (≥3/10) with current spectacles, 33% had limited visual acuity (1/10-2/10), and 21.6% had poor visual acuity (<1/10). The proportion of patients with good results improved with best spectacle correction to 63%, vs. 22.9% with limited visual acuity and 14.1% with poor outcomes. The causes of poor outcomes were mainly related to surgical complications (42.1%) and refractive errors (34.8%).These results are inferior to WHO standards, which recommend a rate greater than or equal to 80% for good outcomes and a rate below 5% for bad outcomes.The identification of the causes of poor outcomes underscores the importance of improving surgical skills and the need for postoperative refraction.

BACKGROUND:

Activating mutations in the valine-to-glutamic acid substitution at position 600 of the v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF-1) gene are detected frequently in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). These mutations have been identified in approximately 29% to 69% of PTCs and in >80% of PTCs of the tall cell variant, whereas they have not been detected in benign lesions or in the majority of those (80%) with the follicular variant of PTC. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the role of liquid-based cytology (LBC) for the detection of BRAF mutations in the outcome of patients who have thyroid PTC measuring ≤1 cm and, hence, in guiding their clinical and surgical management.

METHODS:

From October 2010 through June 2011, 230 consecutive cases were diagnosed as positive for malignancy on fine-needle aspiration cytology processed by LBC. Of these, 73 PTCs ≤1 cm underwent BRAF mutational analysis. The aspirated material was processed using an LBC technique. After DNA extraction of the residual material, BRAF mutation analysis was performed using a direct sequencing method.

RESULTS:

Fifty of 73 patients (68.5%) underwent surgery, and 34 of those patients (68%) had tumors that expressed a BRAF mutation (31 PTCs, including 11 tall cell variants and 3 follicular-variant PTCs). A significant association between BRAF mutation and bilaterality of cancer was observed (odds ratio, 0.077; P = .0007). BRAF mutation was associated significantly with lymph node involvement (odds ratio, 19; P = .0007) but not with extracapsular infiltration (odds ratio, 0.298; P = .179).

CONCLUSIONS:

The current results indicated that BRAF gene mutations can be identified successfully on LBC material and using other cytologic methods with high reproducibility, feasibility, and informative results. The presence of a BRAF mutation may preoperatively predict the behavior of microscopic PTC, suggesting a more aggressive surgical approach. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.