On the 26 February 2025, I travelled to Rwanda on the invitation of a former Belfast trainee, Michael Mikhail. Michael is now one of only two vitreoretinal (VR) surgeons in Rwanda, a country with a population of 14 million. Born...
Ultrasound Biomicroscopy (UBM) has become increasingly important for the diagnosis of a variety of anterior segment pathologies. Most ophthalmologists are familiar with conventional B-scan ultrasonography techniques, which operate at lower sound frequencies (7.5 to 20MHz). UBM is an ultrasound technique...
Ophthalmologists see a large number of patients with headaches or facial pain in the ophthalmic outpatient clinics or in emergency clinics. Over two articles, I will discuss several causes of headaches, ocular manifestations and proposed management and referral options. It...
The first of a two part series, this article will discuss the clinical features, diagnosis and genetic aspects of retinoblastoma. Manoj Parulekar is based at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, one of the two designated national retinoblastoma and paediatric ocular oncology treatment...
A round-up of the eye-related hot topics that have been trending on social media over the last few weeks. #blindpensioner #teachescooking #cookbook Simon Mahoney lost his eyesight to uveitic glaucoma. His wife was his main carer and did most of...
For Oct/Nov 2021 we review a virtual reality (VR) solution for training and assessing pupil function. Different types of VR exist, and the application described here is used on the Oculus Quest or Pico headsets. The user wears a headset...
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...
Non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is the most common acute optic neuropathy in individuals over 50 with estimated prevalence of 2–10 per 100,000 people, characterised by sudden, unilateral vision loss due to ischaemic injury to the optic nerve head....
I thank everyone for their time in responding to this edition’s survey questions. The first question relates to an issue I have previously discussed around consent for second eye cataract surgery. I touch on this point again for two reasons....
*Please be aware that this data does not form part of a peer reviewed research study. The information therein should not be relied upon for clinical purposes but instead used as a guide for clinical practice and reflection. The sample...
Simerdip Kaur takes a look at the latest ophthalmology-related news stories and asks which are based on facts and which are ‘fake news’. Headline: Another plant-based remedy for the eye? What do the nicknames Mary Jane, tea, and 420 all...