Ophthalmology
Sickle cell eye disease: an overview of vitreoretinal complications and their surgical management
Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disorder worldwide and is associated with lifelong anaemia, intermittent pain and multi-organ morbidity. Ocular involvement can be associated with significant visual impairment due to the complications of proliferative sickle retinopathy (PSR). Occasionally...
What’s new in wet AMD papers?
Paper presentations on neovascular (‘wet’) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from the 16th European Society of Retina Specialists Congress, Copenhagen, September 2016, outline recent research directions evaluating the impact of vision loss on key health domains, patient preferences in the process...
An update on inherited retinal disorders (part 1) – overview and assessment of inherited retinal disease
Part 2 of this topic can be found here Inherited Retinal Disease (IRD) is the leading cause of blindness certification in the working age population (age 16-64 years) in England and Wales and the second most common in childhood [1]....
More sensitive visual acuity test for age-related macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. Primarily associated with ageing, genetic factors and lifestyle choices such as smoking also play a contributory role. Patients with early AMD, characterised by the development of...
Optical coherence tomography – reinventing the eye examination
It has been 25 years since Huang et al. presented the first optical coherence tomography (OCT) images in Science [1]. With vast improvements in OCT technology over the years, it is now possible to acquire high-resolution cross-sectional images of the...
Embedding EMR for a complete transformation in user experience
Informatics and IT projects in the NHS have a history of being over budget, delivered late and not fulfilling the design brief. “But it doesn’t have to be that way,” believes Chris Canning, Consultant Ophthalmologist and Chief Clinical Information Officer...
Specialty-driven EMR for paperless clinical environment – insights for an informed choice
Deployment of specialty-driven (or specialty-specific) electronic medical record (EMR) systems across UK ophthalmology units appears to be growing rapidly at the expense of generic, multiuse digital technology packages. Experience further suggests that open source systems can play a significant role...
Management of diabetic macular oedema in vitrectomised eyes
Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is one of the leading causes of blindness; its prevalence is on the rise with progressive increase in numbers of people suffering from diabetes. The management of DMO has evolved significantly over the past few years....
Principles of management
Whatever section of pathology is to blame and wherever it strikes, the aim of treatment is always the same. Find the cause if you can. Establish the effects of the cause. Halt the pathological process if you can. Reverse its...
A revolution in modern genetic testing for the clinical management of ocular disease
Recent years have seen a huge increase in our understanding of the genetic factors underlying a wide variety of eye diseases. This has included common conditions such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, as well as those conditions which have...
EU: is it time to leave and embrace the world?
Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union (EU) or leave? It’s a big decision involving some complex issues, and there’s no doubt the EU will continue to change. Ipsos MORI’s monthly EU voting intention poll published...
The eye without tears
The Art is long and Life is short. So goes the dispiriting tag in Latin and flung from day one and at regular intervals thereafter at idle medical students who, inevitably brainwashed, come by graduation to believe that the only...
