Myasthenic "oculomotor" palsy.

A patient is described who presented with an abrupt onset of diplopia in association with a drooping lid. The motility pattern was consistent with a pupil sparing oculomotor nerve palsy. In addition, the behavior of the palpebral fissure was characteristic of aberrant regeneration. Intravenous Tensilon resulted in a prompt elevation of the lid and improvement in eye movements. The differential diagnosis of a pupil sparing third nerve palsy should include myasthenia gravis.     

Hepatocellular carcinoma: assessment of resectability by computed tomography and ultrasound

A retrospective review of the CT and ultrasound scans from examinations of 30 patients who had hepatocellular carcinoma (hepatoma) was undertaken with special emphasis placed on evaluation of hepatic distribution of tumor, vascular invasion, and extrahepatic spread. Although both CT and ultrasound detected hepatoma in 29 of 30 patients (96%), CT showed more extensive hepatic parenchymal involvement in eight of the patients. Vascular invasion was seen more frequently with ultrasound than with CT. Invasion into the main portal vein was seen by ultrasound in 11 of 30 patients (37%). Extrahepatic spread of tumor was much more frequently detected by CT and was present in 21 of 30 patients (70%). A reasoned approach to the diagnostic workup of hepatomas that will minimize invasive procedures and unnecessary surgery is presented.     

Morning Glory Syndrome: A Functional Analysis Including Fluorescein Angiography,Ultrasonography, and Computerized Tomography

The Morning Glory syndrome (MGS) is a congenital optic nerve anomaly that has received scant attention since first described by Handmann in 1929. We studied ten eyes and eight patients displaying variations of the syndrome. We found that the syndrome may be bilateral, hereditary, and associated with other congenital anomalies. When bilateral, visual function was only moderately disturbed. The anomaly is usually limited to the eye, and the retrobulbar nerve and brain appear normal, as documented by ultrasound and computed tomography. Surprisingly, increasing fibrovascular tissue produces traction on the disc substance and vasculature, vitreous, macula, and peripapillary retina. These findings may place these patients within a spectrum of congenital optic nerve anomalies ranging from staphylomata to posterior persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous.     

Arthrography of the knee: a comparative study of the accuracy of single and double contrast techniques

Single and double contrast arthrographic techniques were compared in 951 patinets with suspected meniscal injuries. Exploratory surgery of the knee was performed in 384 of these patients and good clinical follow-up was obtained in 135 patients. In the latter two groups of patients, the single contrast technique was 97% accurate in assessing the medial meniscus and 96% accurate in assessing the lateral meniscus. Double contrast arthrography was 97% accurate in assessing the medial meniscus and 93% accurate in assessing the lateral meniscus. Numerical differences in the results from the two techniques were not statistically significant. Therefore both techniques can be considered equally effective diagnostically.     

Fluorescein angiography of optociliary shunt vessels

Progressive loss of vision, optic disc pallor, and optociliary shunt vessels (the Hoyt-Spencer sign) constitute the clinical triad of optic nerve sheath meningiomas. However, optociliary shunt vessels may also follow central vein occlusions, and less commonly occur with a few other conditions. This report presents a comparative study of fluorescein angiograms performed on eight patients with optociliary shunt vessels. Four patients had optic nerve sheath meningiomas, and four patients had central retinal vein occlusions. The following differences in the fluorescein angiograms were noted in the two groups. In the optic nerve sheath meningioma group, the shunt vessels fill earlier (in the arteriovenous phase), the flow drains to central venous tributaries, and the late staining is hyperfluorescent to other veins. However, in the central vein occlusion group, the shunts fill later (in the venous phase), show a flow draining to the outer disc margin, and late staining is eufluorescent with other veins. Although optic nerve sheath meningiomas and old vein occlusions are usually rather easily differentiated by a complete examination, the fluorescein angiographic patterns are not only pertinent with regards to the pathogenesis of optociliary vessels, but in certain cases may be clinically helpful in making an important clinical differentiation.