Impact of virtual reality simulation on learning barriers of phacoemulsification perceived by residents.

Objective: To identify residents' perceived barriers to learning phacoemulsification surgical procedures and to evaluate whether virtual reality simulation training changed these perceptions.

Design: The ophthalmology residents undertook a simulation phacoemulsification course and proficiency assessment on the Eyesi system using the previously validated training modules of intracapsular navigation, anti-tremor, capsulorrhexis, and cracking/chopping. A cross-sectional, multicenter survey on the perceived difficulties in performing phacoemulsification tasks on patients, based on the validated International Council of Ophthalmology's Ophthalmology Surgical Competency Assessment Rubric (ICO-OSCAR), using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = least and 5 = most difficulty), was conducted among residents with or without prior simulation training.

Classification of Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration With Pachyvessels on En Face Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to classify exudative maculopathy by the presence of pachyvessels on en face swept-source optical coherence tomography (SSOCT).

Methods: Consecutive patients with signs of exudative maculopathy underwent SSOCT, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), ultra-widefield fundus color photography, and autofluorescence examinations. Images were analyzed in a masked fashion by two sets of four examiners in different sessions: (1) the presence of pachyvessels in en face OCT and (2) features of exudative maculopathy in conventional imaging modalities.

Choroidal structures in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, neovascular age-related maculopathy, and healthy eyes determined by binarization of swept source optical coherence tomographic images.

Purpose: To evaluate quantitatively the choroidal vascularity in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients compared to healthy controls.

Methods: All eyes underwent swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT), and choroidal images were binarized into blood vessels lumen and stroma. The choroidal vascular index (CVI) was defined as the ratio of luminal area (LA) over total choroidal area of the subfoveal region with a width of 1500 μm.

New loci and coding variants confer risk for age-related macular degeneration in East Asians.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness, but presents differently in Europeans and Asians. Here, we perform a genome-wide and exome-wide association study on 2,119 patients with exudative AMD and 5,691 controls, with independent replication in 4,226 patients and 10,289 controls, all of East Asian descent, as part of The Genetics of AMD in Asians (GAMA) Consortium. We find a strong association between CETP Asp442Gly (rs2303790), an East Asian-specific mutation, and increased risk of AMD (odds ratio (OR)=1.

A case of dengue maculopathy with spontaneous recovery.

Purpose: To report a case of dengue maculopathy, which resolved spontaneously without treatment.

Methods: A 25-year-old female patient with good past health was admitted to a general hospital in Hong Kong with fever of unknown origin after traveling to Indonesia. Based on the clinical features and a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction for dengue virus type 1, she was diagnosed with dengue fever.

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: evidence-based guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Background: Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) is an exudative maculopathy affecting vision, with clinical features distinct from neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Currently, no evidence-based guidelines exist for its diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: A panel of experts analyzed a systematic literature search on PCV together with results of the EVEREST trial, the only published randomized controlled clinical trial in PCV.

Primary 23-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Purpose: To describe the results of primary 23-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).

Methods: In a prospective case series, 24 eyes of 24 consecutive patients with RRD underwent primary 23-gauge transconjunctival pars plana vitrectomy with intraocular gas tamponade. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 6 months to 16 months.

Effect of indocyanine green and illumination on gene expression in human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Purpose: To investigate the biological effects of indocyanine green (ICG) and acute illumination on human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells.

Methods: Three concentrations (0, 0.25, and 2.