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Vision on the line: Managing orbital trauma in a 30-year-old surgeon after a football injury

Blunt orbital trauma is a common consequence of sports injuries. Although retrobulbar haemorrhage is frequently associated with orbital compartment syndrome (OCS), the severity of clinical signs can outweigh imaging findings. Early recognition and intervention, such as lateral canthotomy and cantholysis...

“We try our best”, but we should still be open and transparent

In a recent discussion with colleagues, someone recognised that many, when asked what they do, say, “I am a doctor”. Rather than “I work as a doctor”. This sense of belonging, pride and duty comes with responsibility. Becoming a surgeon,...

SOS (Simplified Ophthalmic Statistics) Part 4: How to present your statistical analysis

This is the last in this series of short guides which we hope provide some guidance in relation to statistical issues researchers may encounter when conducting research, audit or indeed quality improvement projects. Here we focus on an issue that...

How to maximise points for your ophthalmology portfolio as a medical student

Ophthalmology is an extremely popular and competitive career option, with one of the highest competition ratios at ST1 level entry (10:1 in 2023) [1]. It is also a highly rewarding speciality, involving: a mixture of medicine and surgery in a...

Cornea teaching techniques: one cornea donor tissue for two purposes

There is a national shortage in the UK in corneal graft material [1,2]. The majority (69%) of corneal transplants in the UK are partial thickness, with 35% being Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) [2]. During the preparation of the donor...

Vitreomacular traction: natural course vs. vitrectomy vs. ocriplasmin

Over time, the vitreous gel completely separates from the retina in a process known as a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). In some instances, however, the vitreous does not detach entirely and remains adherent to the macula. The term vitreomacular traction...

Ophthalmology specialty training applications: a costly affair?

Ophthalmology is one of the most competitive specialties to pursue training in worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the ST1 entry national selection competition ratio for the past few years has ranged between four to five applicants per post [1]. The...

The adverse effects of COVID-19 on undergraduate ophthalmology education: An opportunity to reform ophthalmology training

The steady erosion of undergraduate ophthalmology teaching, which has been acutely exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, has led to a lack of basic ophthalmology examining skills and knowledge amongst clinicians of other specialities. Concurrently, there has been a rise in...

How good does my vision have to be to drive this thing? Visual standards for various occupations

We can all picture that moment in clinic: you are about to tell someone that they’re no longer legally able to drive, ready to deploy our ‘breaking bad news’ techniques. For some patients this may have been expected, or they...

Human factors in the operating room

The importance of minimising human error in surgery is well established. This was initially sparked by lessons learned from the aviation industry in the 1970s after several fatal flight accidents [1]. This became a catalyst for a movement on training...

Keep calm and cut the carbon – improving sustainability in ophthalmology

As I dump my tenth pair of gloves into a non-recyclable clinical waste bin; dispose of another handful of plastic minims; or print another wad of single-sided discharge paperwork after a cataract surgery, the inconvenient truth of how these seemingly...

“Herr Doktor, I can’t see but I am driving”

This 56-year-old lady was quite puzzling. With her own glasses and the pinhole she merely managed to see the 1.3 and 1.0 logMAR lines with her right and left eye, respectively (I am currently working in Germany again, so goodbye...