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Developments in oculoplastic surgery

A study of NHS practice demonstrated significant patient-reported quality-of-life improvements from commonly performed oculoplastic operations: entropion repair, ectropion repair, ptosis repair and dacrocystorhinostomy (DCR) [1]. In recent years, surgical and non-surgical approaches to functional and aesthetic oculoplastic surgery have advanced...

What’s next in retinal imaging? Faster, deeper and full-on

Fast-evolving technological leaps are opening the way toward clinically useful ocular coherence angiography, generating 3-dimensional microvasculature maps without intravenous dye injection, as well as whole-eye imaging, handheld patient-operated optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices and, for challenging vitreoretinal procedures, integrated intraoperative...

Myasthenia gravis presenting with isolated ptosis: a poorly studied subgroup

Investigation into the cause of one isolated symptom or sign can be challenging if that particular sign may be caused by a variety of pathological processes, affecting different tissues, and presenting to different specialties. Unilateral ptosis is a case in...

A paradigm shift in the way we approach cataract surgery

Cataract surgery is the most common elective surgical procedure in the UK [1], with in the region of 350,000 cases being conducted each year. With an ageing population, this figure will only continue to rise over time. Cataract surgery is...

NICE drugs: an update on what’s good to go

Treatment options recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) must be readily available for use in the NHS of England and Wales. This article provides an overview of recent guidance from NICE and summary advice issued...

Guide to Gaining Approval for a Clinical Study

This article focuses on gaining approval for clinical research involving NHS patients, although the principles can be applied to other types of research. The intention is to give an overview of the requirements for setting up a research study, but...

Rare eye diseases: progress continues with authorised orphan medicines and breakthrough technologies

An update on the development of orphan medicines, recent regulatory treatment approvals for rare eye conditions and advances in retinal prosthetic technologies for blinding diseases. The prevalence of a rare disease is based usually on a range of estimates and...

Eye Capacity: clinical need should drive ophthalmic service provision

Almost two million people in the UK suffer sight loss, a number forecast to double over coming decades. Major causes of blindness are age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataract and uncorrected refractive error. Prevalence of these sight-threatening conditions...

An introduction to research governance

Research is the process of acquiring new generalisable knowledge and should be fully integrated into health care work. There is a growing drive to encourage and further develop evidence-based practice in ophthalmology so that staff and patients benefit from improved...

Neovascular AMD: fresh recommendations underline standards of best practice

The management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) has advanced dramatically over the past seven years, with the introduction of targeted new therapies that successfully maintain or improve vision in a majority of affected individuals. It’s a fast moving field,...

Paediatric ptosis

Manoj Parulekar and colleagues provide a comprehensive overview of the diagnosis, assessment and management of childhood ptosis. Blepharoptosis (commonly referred to as ptosis – Greek, πτῶσις, ‘to fall’) is a condition where the upper eyelid is in an abnormally low...

Specialist high-street eye clinics for managing patients with retinal disorders can enhance care standards

The author examines the successful introduction of community-based retinal clinic services by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Sajjad Mahmood, Consultant Ophthalmologist, MREH, shares experience of establishing community-based medical retina clinic services. Sight loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataract,...