Episcleral plaque radiotherapy for retinoblastoma

The authors report their preliminary results of episcleral plaque radiotherapy (cobalt 60, iridium 192, ruthenium 106, and iodine 125 plaques) in 50 selected patients with retinoblastoma. There were 97 plaque applications to 51 affected eyes in these 50 patients. The plaque was used as primary treatment in 15 eyes and as secondary treatment after failure of external beam radiotherapy, photocoagulation, and/or cryotherapy in 36 eyes. Vitreous seeding of tumor cells was evident ophthalmoscopically in 49 of the 51 eyes, negating the possibility of ultimate success by further photocoagulation or cryotherapy. In 18 patients, the contralateral eye had been enucleated and the remaining eye was being considered for enucleation because all other treatment modalities had failed. In 2 of these 18 patients (11%), the remaining eye was salvaged with plaque radiotherapy and some vision was preserved. In 33 eyes with less advanced tumors, 31 had some degree of vitreous seeding by tumor cells. The eye has been retained in all 33 of these patients and useful vision preserved in most. On the basis of these preliminary observations, the authors conclude that plaque radiotherapy can be used successfully as a primary treatment for selected cases of unilateral or bilateral retinoblastoma or as a supplemental treatment after other treatment methods have failed. The current indications for plaque radiotherapy and its advantages over other therapeutic modalities are discussed.     

Enucleation versus preservation of blind eyes following plaque radiotherapy for choroidal melanoma

BACKGROUND: Currently available information about patients with posterior uveal melanoma treated by plaque radiotherapy is insufficient to determine what to do about eyes that become blind as a consequence of the tumour and its treatment. Should they be enucleated, or is ocular preservation just as good in terms of survival? METHODS: We performed a retrospective survival analysis of secondary enucleation versus ocular preservation in patients with a posterior uveal melanoma treated by plaque radiotherapy whose irradiated eye became completely blind following that treatment. Of the 79 patients who fulfilled defined inclusion criteria, 25 underwent secondary enucleation of the blind eye, and 54 retained their irradiated blind eye. RESULTS: Most of the baseline demographic and tumour-related variables evaluated were similarly distributed between the subgroups. The 5-year, 10-year and 15-year all-cause death rates in the secondary enucleation subgroup were 24.7%, 51.5% and 52.0% respectively, and those in the ocular preservation subgroup were 7.4%, 32.9% and 48.1% respectively. In spite of the apparent slight difference between the curves, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.41, Mantel-Haenszel test). INTERPRETATION: Although a retrospective study of this type has several limitations, our results suggest that secondary enucleation is not likely to substantially improve survival of patients whose irradiated eye becomes totally blind following plaque radiotherapy for choroidal or ciliochoroidal melanoma.     

Vitrectomy in eyes with unsuspected retinoblastoma

OBJECTIVE: To analyze patient management and prognosis after vitrectomy in eyes with unsuspected retinoblastoma. DESIGN: Retrospective, noncomparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: Eleven consecutive patients who had undergone vitrectomy on an eye with unsuspected retinoblastoma. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The two main outcome measures were ultimate patient management and the development of retinoblastoma metastasis. RESULTS: Of more than 900 consecutive patients with retinoblastoma managed on the Ocular Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, 11 (1%) had prior vitrectomy in an eye with viable tumor before referral to us for suspected retinoblastoma. The main preoperative diagnoses included vitreous hemorrhage in seven patients (64%), toxocariasis in two patients (18%), toxoplasmosis in one patient (9%), and endophthalmitis in one patient (9%). In no case was retinoblastoma suspected before vitrectomy. The mean patient age at vitrectomy was 6 years. Retinoblastoma was later suspected during vitrectomy in two patients (18%), on cytologic examination of the vitrectomy specimen in eight patients (73%), and after referral in one patient (9%). The mean interval between vitrectomy and referral to us was 23 days. On examination, the globe was classified as Reese-Ellsworth group Vb in all 11 patients (100%). Anterior chamber tumor cells were clinically visible in four eyes (36%), hyphema in two eyes (18%), and iris neovascularization in two eyes (18%). Retinoblastoma cells were visualized in the vitreous in seven eyes (64%) and not visualized in four eyes (36%) that had vitreous blood. Enucleation was necessary in all 11 patients (100%). Adjuvant treatment was delivered in 10 patients (91%), using orbital radiotherapy in nine patients (82%) and chemotherapy in nine patients (82%). Histopathologic evidence of retinoblastoma invasion was documented in the episclera (two eyes; 18%), anterior chamber (seven eyes; 64%), iris (five eyes; 45%), ciliary body (five eyes; 45%), choroid (three eyes; 27%), and optic nerve (four eyes; 36%; prelaminar, two eyes; postlaminar, two eyes). The vitrectomy ports, Tenon's fascia, cut end of the optic nerve, and orbit were free of tumor. Of the 10 patients who received prophylactic chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or both in addition to enucleation for prevention of retinoblastoma metastasis, none (0%) experienced metastasis or orbital recurrence during the mean follow-up of 7 years (range, 0.2-24 years) from the time of retinoblastoma diagnosis. However, one patient was referred to us after the development of metastatic retinoblastoma, and despite aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy after enucleation, died 24 months later. CONCLUSIONS: Retinoblastoma may present with atypical features such as vitreous hemorrhage or signs of vitreous inflammation, particularly in older children. Vitrectomy should be avoided in these cases until the possibility of underlying retinoblastoma is excluded. If vitrectomy is performed in an eye with unsuspected retinoblastoma, enucleation combined with adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or both without delay is advised to prevent systemic tumor dissemination.     

Postenucleation orbital radiotherapy for the treatment of malignant melanoma of the choroid with extrascleral extension.

The outcome is reported in 17 patients in whom an eye was enucleated for malignant melanoma of the choroid with extrascleral extension and who subsequently underwent adjuvant external beam radiotherapy to the orbit as the primary treatment of the extraocular spread of their tumour. Extrascleral extension was encapsulated in five, non-encapsulated in two, and had been surgically transected at enucleation in 10 cases. All the patients have been followed up from enucleation to the present day. Orbital recurrence occurred in only one patient. The overall actuarial survival rate was 51% at 5 years, 44% at 10, and 33% at 15 years. A low orbital recurrence rate of 6% compares very favourably with published figures for this event after enucleation for melanoma with extrascleral extension but without radiotherapy. Adjuvant orbital radiotherapy may have a place in the treatment of selected cases of extracleral extension of intraocular malignant melanoma.     

Vitreous relapse following primary chemotherapy for retinoblastoma: is adjuvant diode laser a risk factor?

AIMS: To evaluate rates of vitreous relapse among retinoblastoma patients treated with primary chemotherapy and assess diode laser as a potential risk factor for relapse. METHODS: Retrospective review of all patients treated with primary chemotherapy at a large ocular oncology centre. Eyes that developed vitreous relapse were coded with regard to Reese-Ellsworth Group, laterality, time to relapse, type of relapse (vitreous base or non-vitreous base relapse), treatments used (including adjuvant diode laser), and ocular preservation. Individual tumour foci treated with laser hyperthermia were also coded for laser parameters including power settings, number of treatments, and concomitant administration of systemic chemotherapy (chemothermotherapy). RESULTS: 15 of 106 eyes (14.15%) developed vitreous relapse over a 6 year period. Mean time to relapse was 7.2 months after chemotherapy was completed. Five cases (33%) were of the vitreous base variety. Ocular salvage was attempted in 11 cases using a variety of methods; one patient was lost to follow up. Six of the remaining 10 eyes (60%) were salvaged. Eight of 38 eyes (21%) treated with systemic chemotherapy and laser hyperthermia developed vitreous relapse compared with seven of 68 eyes (10%) treated with primary chemotherapy alone (p<0.005). Laser settings, number of hyperthermia treatments, and the concomitant use of systemic chemotherapy (chemothermotherapy) were not associated with higher rates of vitreous relapse. CONCLUSION: Nearly one in seven eyes with retinoblastoma treated with primary chemotherapy may develop vitreous relapse. The administration of diode laser hyperthermia appears to increase this risk. Despite additional therapy a number of these eyes succumb to enucleation.     

Defect closure with scleral grafts

BACKGROUND: Excessively draining fistulas may lead to enucleation when primary suture closure is not effective. In these cases preserved cadaver tissues such as sclera, fascia lata, dura mater and peritoneum have been used for patch graft repair with variable results. In this study, the clinical outcomes after transplantation of scleral patch grafts have been investigated. METHOD: Twenty-eight eyes of twenty-seven patients underwent surgery with homologous scleral patch grafts for repair of excessively draining scleral fistulas after cataract surgery (n = 2), leaking filtering blebs following full-thickness filtration surgery (n = 7), large scleral perforations due to trauma (n = 7), corneo-scleral ulcerations due to severe eye burns (n = 9) or after radiotherapy of malignant melanoma (n = 3). The mean size of the rectangular grafts was 8.6 x 6.7 mm (+/- 2.8/3.1 mm). Clinical follow-up was up to 73 months (median 30 months). RESULTS: Twenty-three of 28 eyes (82.1 %) showed functional closure after initial surgery without any wound complication such as patch retraction or leakage and without evidence of inflammation. In five eyes surgical revision was necessary. Two of these eyes had to be enucleated due to uncontrollable dehiscence after the second operation. Two eyes were enucleated at the patient's demand due to pain. The fifth eye showed effective closure after the second operation. CONCLUSION: In our study scleral patch grafts were useful in adequately closing large corneo-scleral defects in 24 of 28 eyes (85.7 %). The antigen load and, therefore, the rejection of the scleral grafts is minimized due to the denaturation of proteins during the alcohol treatment before storage.     

Vascular endothelial growth factor is elevated in ocular fluids of eyes harbouring uveal melanoma: identification of a potential therapeutic window

BACKGROUND: Improved local treatment of uveal melanoma makes it possible for many patients to retain the affected eye, but a proportion will develop secondary complications such as neovascularisation of the iris (NVI) and require enucleation. Although vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) is known to correlate with NVI and can cause NVI in experimental models, this pro-angiogenic cytokine is consistently reported to be absent in uveal melanoma. Novel anti-VEGF therapies are now in clinical trial, and the authors therefore wished to determine whether VEGF-A was indeed elevated in melanoma bearing eyes. METHODS: VEGF-A concentrations were measured in aqueous and vitreous from 19 and 30 enucleated eyes respectively. RESULTS: Elevated VEGF-A concentrations (up to 21.6 ng/ml) were found in melanoma bearing eyes compared with samples from patients undergoing routine cataract extraction (all had values below 0.96 ng/ml). Immunohistochemistry showed VEGF-A protein in the iris and/or ciliary body of 54% and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in 82% of the eyes examined. VEGF was found to a limited extent and at very low levels in only 9% of these tumours. Aqueous or vitreous VEGF levels showed no apparent correlation with retinal detachment, tumour size, vascularity, or immunohistochemistry. Though limited in number, the highest VEGF levels correlated with previous radiation therapy, and with the presence neovascularisation of the iris or optic nerve head. bFGF was not significantly elevated in ocular fluids: it is known to be a pro-angiogenic agent and was detected in the majority of primary uveal melanomas. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, though the source of VEGF within eyes harbouring uveal melanoma is not clear, these data suggest that anti-VEGF therapy might prove useful in the management of some patients with NVI secondary to uveal melanoma.     

Indications for eye removal in southern Nigeria

To determine the trend in frequency and clinical indications of surgical removal of eyes in a tertiary eye centre in Calabar, Nigeria. This is a 10-year retrospective review of patients who underwent surgical removal of eyes in a tertiary centre. The clinical records were reviewed (between Jan 2001 and Dec 2010) for demographic data, type of surgery, and clinical indications. A total of 137 eyes were surgically removed within the study period. Of these 46 were children (<16 years). There were 85 males and 52 females giving a M:F ratio of 1.6:1. Clinical indications for surgical eye removal include infective causes (32.1 %; perforated corneal ulcers, endophthalmitis, panophthalmitis), trauma (21.2 %), tumours (21.2 %), anterior staphyloma (13.1 %), and painful blind eyes (9.5 %). Phthisis bulbi, expulsive haemorrhage and aphakic bullous keratopathy accounted for the remaining 2.8 %. The eyes were removed by evisceration (63.5 %), enucleation (29.9 %) and modified exenteration (6.6 %). The commonest indication for eye removal in children was tumour (retinoblastoma). Eye removal in southern Nigeria is often due to infective causes (panophthalmitis and endophthalmitis), perforated corneal ulcer, mechanical trauma (blunt or open globe injury from gunshots or direct trauma), chemical burns, tumours, persistently painful blind eye and anterior staphyloma. Other indications for eye removal were phthisis bulbi, expulsive haemorrhage and aphakic bullous keratopathy.     

Pathologic findings in late endophthalmitis after glaucoma filtering surgery

OBJECTIVE: To report the clinicopathologic features of four eyes enucleated for late-onset bleb-related endophthalmitis. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. MATERIALS: Four enucleated eyes. METHODS: The clinical and histopathologic features of four patients who underwent enucleation for late-onset endophthalmitis after glaucoma filtering surgery were reviewed. RESULTS: The eyes were enucleated for endophthalmitis one to five years after trabeculectomy. Two of the four eyes had trabeculectomy with adjunctive mitomycin-C. All four eyes had streptococci cultured from the aqueous and/or vitreous. Common pathologic features included inflammation involving the anterior segment, lens and choroid. One eye exhibited focal granulomatous uveitis. CONCLUSIONS: Late-onset endophthalmitis after glaucoma filtering surgery is often due to streptococcal species and rapidly progresses over a few days. Phacoanaphylaxis with associated granulomatous uveitis may contribute to the poor prognosis in this setting.     

Reasons for enucleation after plaque radiotherapy for posterior uveal melanoma. Clinical findings

A review of 1019 patients with posterior uveal melanomas who were treated with episcleral plaque radiotherapy showed that 59 (6%) required enucleation of the affected eye. Seventeen of the enucleations were done within 1 year, 30 within 2 years, and 55 within 5 years. The enucleated eyes had been treated with a cobalt-60 plaque in 39 cases, a ruthenium-106 plaque in 13 cases, an iodine-125 plaque in four cases, and an iridium-192 plaque in three cases. The primary reasons for enucleation included tumor regrowth in 30 cases (51%), neovascular glaucoma in 18 (31%), patient request in five (8%), scleral melting in four (7%), painful bullous keratopathy in one (2%), and hemolytic glaucoma in one (2%). The time interval from plaque treatment to eventual enucleation averaged 29 months. Tumor regrowth requiring enucleation was detected clinically an average of 28 months after treatment. In these cases the average radiation dose to the tumor apex was 7700 cGy and to the tumor base 36,000 cGy. Uncontrollable neovascular glaucoma occurred an average of 38 months after plaque radiotherapy and, most commonly, after cobalt-60 plaques were used. Eyes with plaque-induced scleral melting eventually required enucleation after an average of 10 months. In all cases of scleral melting, the tumor was ciliochoroidal.     

Intravitreal chemotherapy for vitreous seeding in retinoblastoma: Recent advances and perspectives

For decades intravitreal chemotherapy (IViC) remained virtually banished from the therapeutic armamentarium against retinoblastoma, except as a heroic attempt of salvage before enucleation in only eyes with refractory vitreous seeding. Very recently, we have initiated a reappraisal of this route of administration by (1) profiling eligibility criteria, (2) describing a safety-enhanced injection procedure, (3) adjusting the tumoricidal dose of melphalan, and (4) reporting an unprecedented efficacy in terms of tumor control of vitreous seeding. Since then, intravitreal chemotherapy is being progressively implemented worldwide with great success, but still awaits formal validation by the ongoing prospective phase II clinical trial. As far as preliminary results are concerned, IViC appears to achieve complete vitreous response in 100% of the 35 newly recruited patients irrespective of the previous treatment regimen, including external beam radiotherapy and/or intra-arterial melphalan. In other words, vitreous seeding, still considered as the major cause of primary and secondary enucleation, can now be controlled by IViC. However, sterilization of vitreous seeding does not necessarily translate into eye survival, unless the retinal source of the seeds receives concomitant therapy. In conclusion, IViC, an unsophisticated and cost-effective treatment, is about to revolutionize the eye survival prognosis of vitreous disease in advanced retinoblastoma.     

Secondary endoresection for previously treated choroidal melanomas with a non-responsive course and persistent exudative retinal detachment

AIM:To evaluate the results and complications of secondary endoresection via pars plana vitrectomy for choroidal melanoma and review the previously reported endoresection studies on the treatment of choroidal melanoma.METHODS:The medical records of 6 patients with choroidal melanoma who underwent secondary endoresection between March 2012 and March 2020 were retrospectively reviewed.The indications for secondary endoresection were progressive or recurrent tumor and severe exudative retinal detachment after previous treatment with plaque radiotherapy/Cyberknife radiosurgery/transpupillary thermotherapy(TTT).RESULTS:Before endoresection,2 eyes had Iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy and TTT,1 eye had Ruthenium-106 plaque radiotherapy and TTT,1 eye had Cyberknife radiosurgery and TTT,1 eye had Cyberknife radiosurgery,and 1 eye had TTT only.Preoperative visual acuity ranged from 20/63 to 20/1600(Snellen) and from 0.5 to 1.9(mean:1.1) on the log MAR scale.The mean tumor base diameters were 9.5×8.7 mm and the mean tumor thickness was 5.4 mm.After secondary endoresection,transient vitreous hemorrhage developed in 2(33.3%) eyes and retinal detachment in 1(16.7%) eye.Cytopathological examination revealed epithelioid cell melanoma in 4(66.7%) eyes and mixed cell melanoma in 1(16.7%).Melanoma cell type was not specified in 1(16.7%) eye.At a mean follow-up of 49.6 mo(range:16-90 mo),mean visual acuity did not improve and 1 eye was enucleated due to tumor recurrence.Final visual acuity ranged from 20/63 to 20/1600(Snellen) and from 0.5 to 1.9(mean:1.2) on the log MAR scale.Two patients with choroidal melanoma developed metastasis and eventually expired.CONCLUSION:Secondary endoresection seems to be an effective treatment option for globe salvage in choroidal melanoma not responsive to conventional treatment and displaying persistent exudative retinal detachment.There was no visual acuity increase among the treated eyes but globe salvage was possible in most cases in this study.     

Enucleation after plaque radiotherapy for posterior uveal melanoma. Histopathologic findings

A review of 1019 patients with posterior uveal melanomas, who were treated with episcleral plaque radiotherapy between April 1976 and December 1987, showed that 59 (6%) of these patients have thus far required enucleation of the affected eye. The most common clinical reasons for enucleation were tumor regrowth (51%) and neovascular glaucoma (31%). These irradiated melanomas were of mixed cell type in 40 cases (68%), spindle in 10 cases (17%), totally necrotic in 7 cases (12%), and epithelioid in 2 cases (3%). Some degree of tumor necrosis was seen in all cases. Overall, the median number of mitoses per 40 high-power fields in these irradiated tumors was 0. Most (64%) of the tumors had no identifiable mitosis in 40 high-power fields. A three-way simultaneous comparison of the following groups was made: irradiated eyes enucleated for tumor regrowth, irradiated eyes enucleated for neovascular glaucoma, and a matched group of nonirradiated posterior uveal melanomas. This comparison showed that the largest tumor dimension was significantly greater in the irradiated eyes enucleated for tumor regrowth than in the other two groups. Mitotic activity was significantly higher in the irradiated tumor regrowth and nonirradiated groups than in the irradiated neovascular group. There was no significant difference among the three groups in an analysis of height. The results suggested that mitotic activity may exist after plaque radiotherapy, especially when there is clinical evidence of tumor regrowth.     

Long-term follow-up and the role of vitrectomy in the treatment of perforating eye injuries without intraocular foreign bodies

The long-term results of 292 consecutive eyes with a perforating eye injury without an intraocular foreign body treated with or without pars plana vitrectomy are reported. With the mean follow-up time of 31.0 months 45 eyes (15%) were enucleated and another 47 eyes (16%) were blind (visual acuity less than 0.05). The retina was attached in 87% of the non-enucleated eyes. The visual outcome was considerably better in eyes with anterior segment injuries (ASI) compared to posterior segment injuries (PSI). Eyes with primary vitreous haemorrhage had poorer visual prognosis than eyes without haemorrhage. Vitrectomy improved the prognosis of the former eyes, but in the whole series the visual acuity was better in eyes in which vitrectomy was not performed (not considered indicated). Of the vitrectomized eyes, 55% in the ASI group and 25% in the PSI group received useful vision (visual acuity greater than or equal to 0.05). Excluding the very late vitrectomies, a statistically significant correlation was found between the timing of vitrectomy and the late visual outcome.     

猪眼基底部玻璃体视网膜界面的超微结构观察

目的:观察离体猪眼玻璃体腔内注射酶后基底部玻璃体视网膜界面的超微结构。方法:取新鲜尸体猪眼130眼,随机均分A,B,C,D及对照组共5组,每组再分为2小组,每小组各13只。其中A和B组为透明质酸酶(hyaluronidase,HA)组,分别于玻璃体腔内注射终浓度为200,800U/mL的HA0.1mL;C和D组为软骨素酶(chondroitinase,CA)组,分别于玻璃体腔内注射终浓度为10,50U/mL的CA0.1mL;对照组玻璃体内注射磷酸缓冲盐(PBS)0.1mL。各组的眼球分别在37℃下水浴15min和30min后取出,经4%戊二醛和自配视网膜固定液固定,行石蜡切片苏木素-伊红染色检查、基底部扫描电镜检查及透射电镜检查,观察基底部玻璃体视网膜情况。结果:病理检查显示,大体标本和切片均见基底部玻璃体有部分液化、降解;扫描电镜显示,CA50U/mL组和HA800U/mL组均可见基底部玻璃体与对照组相比有显著减少;透射电镜显示,实验组(B,C,D组)各组玻璃体视网膜界面残余纤维较对照组明显减少。结论:体外使用HA和CA均可诱导猪眼基底部玻璃体脱离,但CA可能引起的眼内副作用更大。     

Histopathology of eyes enucleated after endoresection of choroidal melanoma

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the histopathologic features of eyes enucleated after endoresection for choroidal melanoma to assess the complications of this treatment and to determine indications for further treatment after endoresection in the setting of possible tumor recurrence. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-one consecutive patients who had undergone endoresection for uveal melanoma. METHODS: Eyes that had undergone enucleation after endoresection were identified, and their charts and histologic characteristics were reviewed. Pertinent features were described. One patient was excluded because enucleation was performed as a primary treatment when endoresection was abandoned at the time of his initial treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures included: reasons for enucleation; tumor recurrence; and location, clinical, and histologic characteristics of each recurrence. RESULTS: Twelve eyes were identified that had undergone enucleation after endoresection. The reasons for enucleation were: (1) local tumor recurrence detected by ophthalmoscopy (2 patients) or echography (1 patient); (2) opaque media preventing adequate ophthalmoscopy (4 patients); (3) blind and painful eye of uncertain cause (1 patient); and (4) a combination of blind eye and limited fundus view (4 patients), which was the result of untreatable retinal detachment (3 patients) and endophthalmitis (1 patient). Eight of 12 patients had recurrent choroidal melanoma. Recurrences were all located adjacent to the resection site, although in 1 patient there was extensive diffuse recurrence throughout the eye. The recurrence was visible clinically in 3 patients and obscured because of opaque media (2 patients), a combination of inadequate echography and retinal detachment (1 patient), retinal detachment (1 patient), and endophthalmitis (1 patient). CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent disease occurred at the site of the primary tumor with no seeding except in 1 patient, whose marginal recurrence was not immediately detected and treated because of opaque media. As with other treatments conserving the eye, enucleation should be performed if adequate ocular examination is not possible, and follow-up should be lifelong.     

Eyes removed for primary ulcerative keratitis with endophthalmitis: microbial and histologic findings

OBJECTIVES: To study the microbiological and histological findings in patients whose eyes are removed for primary ulcerative keratitis with suppurative endophthalmitis. METHODS: Survey of consecutive cases of ulcerative keratitis with histologically defined endophthalmitis treated by enucleation or evisceration. RESULTS: Eighteen cases of ulcerative keratitis with suppurative endophthalmitis were identified. Thirteen corneal ulcers were culture positive (72%). Microorganism were found in histologic sections of the anterior segment of 9 eyes (50%), but no microorganisms were identified in the vitreous. Two eyes (11%) had culture-positive endophthalmitis. Half of the patients in this study who had undergone elective intraocular surgery had done so within 4 months of enucleation. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable vitreous inflammation can occur with microbial keratitis in the absence of histologically demonstrable microorganisms in the vitreous. Microbial keratitis associated with suppurative endophthalmitis is usually caused by virulent organisms. The factors that contributed to the spread of purulent inflammation inside the eye could not be assessed in this morphologic study because of the lack of clinical data.     

Ischemic necrosis and atrophy of the optic nerve after periocular carboplatin injection for intraocular retinoblastoma

PURPOSE: To report four cases of optic nerve neuropathy in three children treated with periocular carboplatin injections for unilateral or bilateral intraocular retinoblastoma. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series. METHODS: Setting: University-based Ophthalmology Practice. Study population: Four eyes of three children with retinoblastoma enucleated after nonsuccessful multimodality treatment including periocular carboplatin injections. Observation procedures: The enucleated eyes were routinely processed and evaluated by light microscopy. A retrospective chart review of all four cases was performed. RESULTS: Three enucleated eyes (Reese-Ellsworth groups III and VB) were obtained from two children with bilateral multifocal retinoblastoma, and one eye (Reese-Ellsworth group IIB) was harvested from a child with unilateral retinoblastoma. All affected eyes underwent three to seven periocular carboplatin injections before enucleation. Additional treatment modalities included systemic chemotherapy, transpupillary thermotherapy, transscleral cryotherapy, and external beam radiotherapy. Histopathologic evaluation of the enucleated eyes revealed focal areas of ischemic necrosis or atrophy of the optic nerve along with dystrophic calcification and mild inflammation in the surrounding fibrovascular adipose tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Periocular injections of carboplatin may be a useful treatment approach in the management of patients with advanced intraocular retinoblastoma and may minimize systemic side-effects. However, ophthalmologists and pediatric oncologists should be aware of potential marked local complications with periocular carboplatin delivery, including ischemic optic neuropathy. Modifying the injection site/location (for example, subtenon space) or adding other delivery routes adjuncts (for example, fibrin sealant) deserves further study.     

Vasoproliferative tumours of the retina

BACKGROUND: Vasoproliferative tumours of the retina (VPTR) are benign tumours of unknown origin, occurring mostly in otherwise healthy patients. VPTR may be associated with other chorioretinal diseases, such as uveitis. The tumours, which histologically represent reactive gliovascular proliferations, are characterised by a pink to yellow appearance on funduscopy and are accompanied by exudative and haemorrhagic changes of the retina. METHODS: 22 cases of VPTR in 21 patients were examined with a follow up period between 1 month and 6 years. Ophthalmological changes associated with VPTR were intraretinal and subretinal exudations (n=18), exudative detachments of the surrounding sensory retina (n=13), intraretinal and subretinal haemorrhages (n=10), exudative changes within the macula (n=10), hyperpigmentation of the retinal pigment epithelium at the border of the exudative retinal changes (n=9), and vitreous haemorrhages (n=4). Tumour biopsy was performed in two cases. Treatment consisted of plaque radiotherapy (n=14), plaque radiotherapy and cryotherapy (two), cryotherapy only (two), observation (three), and enucleation in one case of a blind and painful eye. RESULTS: Regression of the tumour and the associated exudative changes could be observed in all treated cases. Visual acuity at last follow up improved two lines or more in two cases, remained within two lines of the initial visual acuity in 15 cases, and worsened in the remaining five. Histopathological examination of the biopsy specimens and the tumour of the enucleated eye showed massive capillary proliferation with perivascular spindle-shaped glial cells of retinal origin. CONCLUSION: The correct diagnosis of VPTR is of importance as these lesions may lead to visual loss. Further, VPTR must be differentiated from angiomas associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease as well as from ocular and systemic malignancies. Regression of tumour thickness and associated retinal changes can be achieved with brachytherapy or cryotherapy.     

One hundred consecutive cases of pars plana vitrectomy with the vitreous stripper

The results of 100 consecutive cases of pars plana vitrectomy are reported. Vitrectomy was performed on accunt of complications of diabetic retinopathy (37 eyes), complicated retinal detachment (28 eyes), vitreous haemorrhage of various causes (17 eyes), vitreous haemorrhage and complications secondary to injuries (13 eyes) and secondary cataract or vitreous in the anterior chamber creating corneal dystrophy (5 eyes). With an average follow-up time of 14.2 months, vitrectomy resulted in visual improvement in 55 eyes, unchanged visual acuity in 24 eyes and reduced visual acuity in 21 eyes. The operative and postoperative complications were: secondary vitreous haemorrhage (11 eyes), retinal detachment (8 eyes), haemorrhagic glaucoma (7 eyes), retinal tears (5 eyes), lens injury (4 eyes), corneal dystrophy (2 eyes) and endophthalmitis (1 eye).