Refractive surgery in Israel Defense Forces recruits

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of refractive surgery history in recruits for military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) between 1998 to 2005 and to evaluate the effect of surgery on the recruits' fitness to serve in combat units. SETTING: Surgeon General's HQ, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Forces. METHODS: The computerized medical records of all ametropic Israeli army inductees were reviewed. They included spectacle-wearing, contact lens-wearing, and post refractive-surgery individuals who were examined in the recruitment office before their compulsory military service. The extracted data from the personal files consisted of the assignment to combat units of those who had refractive surgery and those who wore corrective eyewear and the first and last military position of all ametropic recruits who were assigned to combat units. RESULTS: Five hundred ninety-seven inductees (513 men, 84 women) had refractive surgery before their military service during the study period. The prevalence of recruits who had refractive surgery increased from 0.8/1000 ametropes in 1998 to 4.9/1000 ametropes in 2005. Significantly more recruits who had surgery (73.5%) than recruits who wore corrective eyewear were assigned to combat units (P<.001). The dropout rate from combat units of the former was significantly lower than that of the latter (13.1% versus 29.2%) (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: More corrective eyewear users had refractive surgery before their IDF military service, and relatively more of them applied for combat duty. The high percentage of recruits who had refractive surgery who serve uninterruptedly in combat units indicates that the procedure has no deleterious effect on the recruits' fitness.     

Childhood Miller Fisher syndrome: case report and review of the literature

Three years ago Ray Buncic and I were having a break from the lectures at an ophthalmology meeting. Ray told me of his earnest desire to provide Canadian ophthalmologists with a series of updates in pediatric ophthalmology. After a few days we were both back to the "busi-ness" of medicine, with little time to devote to such a project. Then, along came the COS Council on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and the MaintCert program--a bold initiative to draw talent of Canadian ophthalmology into a program of continuing medical education (CME). One initiative was to use the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology as a CME tool. This article by Eedy Mezer and Ray Buncic is highlighted as a Section 3 learning activity (self-assessment). I am delighted to have seen Ray bring forward his idea in this manner. The Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology has initiated this project in conjunction with the Council on CPD. There are a number of questions that relate to this article that can be answered on the COS Web site (http://www.eyesite.ca). Participants will be provided with an aggregate score and a certificate that can be printed to allow them to record this activity for Section 3 credits with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.     

Subcorneal pustular dermatosis involving the face

We report an interesting case of subcorneal pustular dermatosis in a young woman with prominent involvement of the face. Facial involvement in this condition has not previously been reported.