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PURPOSE: Scleral buckling for retinal detachment is a well-reported cause of secondary strabismus. We analyzed the effects on motility of removal of the exoplant alone to determine whether this is warranted as a separate step in the surgical management of these patients. METHODS: A retrospective case series of patients who underwent scleral exoplant removal due to symptomatic strabismus development following retinal detachment repair from 2007 to 2009 was conducted. Manifest horizontal and vertical deviations were treated as vectors of a single combined deviation (|dev|). Pre- and postoperative manifest |dev| in the primary position (|dev|(pp)) and in the gaze position of maximal deviation (|dev|(max)) were analyzed. RESULTS: Five patients were identified, all with symptomatic, binocular diplopia in the primary position prior to exoplant removal. Median |dev|(pp) prior to exoplant removal was 21(Δ) and following removal was 21(Δ) (P = 0.81). The median |dev|(max) prior to exoplant removal was 33(Δ) and following removal, 22(Δ) (P = 0.82). Median follow-up was 8 months. There were no cases of retinal redetachment following the exoplant removal. No patient reported any subjective improvement of their diplopia. All 5 patients went on to have strabismus surgery as a separate procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Median primary position deviation was unchanged by scleral buckle removal, and Exoplant removal has minimal long-term benefit on the strabismus following scleral buckling procedures.

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PURPOSE: To investigate the publishing trends of the top general clinical ophthalmic journals and to report: (1) the proportions of articles published in terms of ophthalmic subspecialty, (2) the study design used, (3) any changes in publishing trends, and (4) any differences in the quality of study design between the subspecialties. DESIGN: Retrospective, database review. PARTICIPANTS: All original articles published in the top general, clinical ophthalmology journals from 2005 through 2009. METHODS: All general, clinical ophthalmic journals were selected from the top 20 journals based on 2008 impact factor. All abstracts from original articles were reviewed, and the subject matter was recorded as belonging to 1 of the 11 ophthalmic subspecialties. After the content of the article was assigned, then the study design was recorded as one of the following: nonanalytic study, case-control or cohort study, randomized control trial, meta-analysis, laboratory science article, or systemic review. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subspecialty of the article and the study design used. RESULTS: Seven journals were included, and 12 426 abstracts were reviewed. Articles relating to medical retina were the most prevalent (29.1%), and those relating to strabismus were the least prevalent (2.3%). Case-control or cohort studies comprised most study designs (40.1%), with meta-analyses comprising the least (0.3%). The mean number of articles per year was 2485 (standard deviation, 125.1), remaining stable over the study period. Medical retina articles were significantly more common in 2009 than in 2005 (chi-square, 11.2; P = 0.0008), whereas the proportion of oculoplastic articles was significantly reduced (chi-square, 16.9; P<0.0001). Cataract and refractive surgery had the highest proportions of articles using the higher forms of study design (7.8%), and oculoplastics had the highest proportion of nonanalytic studies (64.5%). CONCLUSIONS: There are great differences across the specialty of ophthalmology in the subject matter of published literature, probably driven by recent advances in treatments. Medical retina is the subspecialty that is most represented in the literature, with strabismus being the least represented. Cataract and refractive surgery articles have the greatest proportion of higher-quality research strategies. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

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Correction of adult strabismus is not a cosmetic procedure but one that restores normality to an individual's appearance that has been altered by a disease process. Two fundamental principles underpinning facial attractiveness are symmetry and averageness-manifest strabismus affects both of these giving an unconscious signal of poor genetic history. The presence of manifest strabismus adversely affects many aspects of patients' lives including finding a partner, job prospects and interaction with peers, and may manifest more seriously as psychiatric disorders. Surgical correction has been shown to be safe and effective for the functional problems of strabismus in adults but the hugely positive effects on the psychosocial aspects are only now becoming apparent. The advent of a new adult strabismus specific quality-of-life questionnaire and its subsequent validation will make this quantification of improvement easier. The wider medical community and the public at large should be made aware of the benefits of corrective strabismus surgery in adults.

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PURPOSE: The introduction of the AS-20 strabismus-specific quality-of-life questionnaire allows clinicians to quantify the effects of strabismus on adults for the first time. We correlated strabismic patients' demographic and clinical findings to their AS-20 scores. METHODS: A consecutive cohort of patients from an ongoing prospective study of adults with manifest strabismus was recruited. The patients' age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), magnitude, and direction of deviation were correlated to their AS-20 scores. Patients' zip codes were used to derive a score for their SES based on the English 2007 Index of Multiple Deprivation score (IMD2007). RESULTS: A total of 61 questionnaires with all demographic and clinical data were available. The median magnitude of deviation was 20.4(Δ) in this group. The mean AS-20 score was 49.5 (SD 21.6). Women had significantly lower AS-20 scores than men (p = 0.02). There was no difference in AS-20 scores between individuals with eso- and exodeviations (p = 0.7). Multiple linear regression analysis shows female sex and lower SES to be significantly associated with lower AS-20 scores (p = 0.03 and p = 0.006, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Strabismic patients who are female or live in a more deprived area have a significantly lower AS-20 score.

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The use of cyclosporin is well established within the ophthalmology community, especially against sight threatening intraocular inflammation. It is well known however, that immunosuppression in general is a risk factor for the development of malignancy and numerous studies point to the risk imposed by cyclosporin. This article analyses and reviews all relevant studies with regard to the development of malignancy associated with the use of cyclosporin and extrapolates this into the ophthalmic setting. This is to enable clinicians to assess the risks in individual patients and to present a monitoring regime which can be used in patients undergoing cyclosporin treatment. The review is solely concerned with the risk of the development of malignancy following cyclosporin immunosuppression and not with any other adverse effect.

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Spinal meningiomas are reported infrequently as pure epidural tumors, and they are rarely located at the caudal end of the spine. The unique combination of a wholly epidural tumor confined entirely to the sacral canal has not been previously described. The authors describe the case of a 29-year-old man who presented with coccygeal and left-sided S2-4 dermatomal pain. Examination confirmed sensory loss in the same distribution. A magnetic resonance image revealed an enhancing mass lesion in the sacral canal scalloping the bone at S-2 and S-3. An apparent complete resection was performed. Intraoperatively the authors observed an entirely epidural tumor with a small dural attachment at the most caudal end of the thecal sac. Histological examination confirmed that the tumor was an atypical meningioma. A local recurrence developed within 1 year of surgery, and the patient underwent a hemisacrectomy for tumor removal. An additional recurrence in the lumbosacral spine and multiple pulmonary metastases developed thereafter. In addition to the unique nature of this case, the authors also observed a tumor behaving in a far more aggressive fashion than its histological findings would suggest. This adds to the differential diagnosis of tumors occurring in the sacral canal.

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