A variety of nonstaining patterns around macular holes can be observed using BBG, and these patterns correlate to the amount of cellular tissue on the vitreous side of the ILM seen histologically. These patterns could be used to guide the ILM peeling requirement or extent in future studies.

Aims: Analysis of pre-operative spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) characteristics of full-thickness macular holes (FTMH) and effect on optimum management. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed SD-OCT characteristics of a consecutive cohort of patients waitlisted for FTMH surgery and categorized them by current evidence-based treatments. Results: Out of the 106 holes analysed, 36 were small, 40 medium and 30 large. Initially, 33 holes had vitreomacular adhesion (VMA). 41 holes were analysed for change in characteristics with a median duration of 8 weeks between the scans. The number of small or medium holes decreased from 20 to 6 and that of large holes doubled. The number of holes with VMA halved. Smaller hole size (p = 0.014) and being phakic (p = 0.048) were associated with a larger increase in size. The strongest predictor of hole progression into a different surgical management category was the presence of VMA. Conclusion: FTMH characteristics can change significantly pre-operatively and affect optimal treatment choice.

The extent of DONFL observed postoperatively can be partly explained by the amount of retinal side cellular debris on the retinal side of the peeled ILM. Surgical strategies which minimize this material could reduce the extent of DONFL.

ILM peeling technique and possibly other surgeon-specific factors appear to influence the extent of DONFL observed after ILM peeling macular hole surgery.

IntroductionFluocinolone acetonide (FAc) intravitreal implant (ILUVIEN®; Alimera Sciences Limited, Aldershot, UK) has been approved in the UK for the treatment of chronic diabetic macula edema, insufficiently responsive to available therapies. It is inserted into the vitreous cavity through a 25-gauge needle. Migration of the implant to the anterior chamber (AC) can occur through gaps in the posterior capsule especially in vitrectomized eyes. Early removal of AC-dislocated FAc implant is essential to prevent corneal edema and damage from raised intraocular pressure.AimTo demonstrate a simple and novel technique, with a previous capsular tear, for removal of AC-migrated FAc implant and reinsertion into the vitreous cavity without compromising implant integrity.MethodA side port incision was created with a keratome and an anterior chamber maintainer introduced and secured. Subsequently, a corneal incision was created at 12 o’clock through which a 23-gauge backflush needle (flute needle) was advanced into the anterior chamber and passive suction used to secure the implant. The flute needle was then placed through the defect in the posterior capsule and the exit port blocked, causing loss of suction and allowing the implant to fall into the posterior segment. The sulcus intraocular lens (IOL) was centralized simply by manipulating it approximately 180 degrees to provide adequate anterior capsule support.ResultsThe FAc implant was successfully removed from AC in two patients and reinserted into the vitreous cavity without damage or complications either for the eye or the implant. IOL in both patients were repositioned to close the gap in posterior capsule. After 2 months, the implant remains in the vitreous cavity. This paper presents data from one of these cases.ConclusionUsing 23-gauge flute needle to retrieve dislocated FAc implant is a safe and easy technique.FundingAlimera Sciences Ltd.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40123-015-0035-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

IntroductionAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common cause of visual impairment, affecting central vision. Geographic atrophy (GA) is an advanced form of the non-neovascular (dry) type of AMD. Late-stage clinical trials suggest that intravitreal injections of novel therapeutics may slow down the rate of GA progression by up to 30% in 1 year, thus allowing people with GA to preserve central vision for a longer period. While intravitreal injections have become an established treatment modality for neovascular (wet) AMD, it is unknown whether patients with (more gradually progressing) GA would accept regular injections that slow down, but do not stop or reverse, vision loss. Therefore, this mixed-methods pilot study will aim to explore whether regular intravitreal injections will be acceptable as treatment for patients with GA, and the factors that may affect treatment acceptability.Methods and analysisA mixed-methods survey has been designed in collaboration with a GA patient advisory group. The survey comprises of structured questionnaires, semi-structured interview questions regarding patients’ perceptions of intravitreal injections and the burden of treatment, and a task eliciting preferences between different potential treatments. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this study will be conducted remotely by telephone. Thirty individuals will be recruited from NHS Medical Retina clinics at Central Middlesex Hospital, London. Half of the participants will be naïve to intravitreal injections, while half will have previous experience of intravitreal injections for neovascular (wet) AMD. Qualitative data analysis will be conducted using the Framework Method of analysis to identify key themes from participants’ accounts.Ethics and disseminationThe study received Health Research Authority approval on 23 March 2021 (IRAS Project ID: 287824). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations to the medical retina community, as well as through dialogue with patients and macular disease charities.

IntroductionRecent years have witnessed an upsurge of demand in eye care services in the UK. With a large proportion of patients referred to Hospital Eye Services (HES) for diagnostics and disease management, the referral process results in unnecessary referrals from erroneous diagnoses and delays in access to appropriate treatment. A potential solution is a teleophthalmology digital referral pathway linking community optometry and HES.Methods and analysisThe HERMES study (Teleophthalmology-enabled and artificial intelligence-ready referral pathway for community optometry referrals of retinal disease: a cluster randomised superiority trial with a linked diagnostic accuracy study) is a cluster randomised clinical trial for evaluating the effectiveness of a teleophthalmology referral pathway between community optometry and HES for retinal diseases. Nested within HERMES is a diagnostic accuracy study, which assesses the accuracy of an artificial intelligence (AI) decision support system (DSS) for automated diagnosis and referral recommendation. A postimplementation, observational substudy, a within-trial economic evaluation and discrete choice experiment will assess the feasibility of implementation of both digital technologies within a real-life setting. Patients with a suspicion of retinal disease, undergoing eye examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans, will be recruited across 24 optometry practices in the UK. Optometry practices will be randomised to standard care or teleophthalmology. The primary outcome is the proportion of false-positive referrals (unnecessary HES visits) in the current referral pathway compared with the teleophthalmology referral pathway. OCT scans will be interpreted by the AI DSS, which provides a diagnosis and referral decision and the primary outcome for the AI diagnostic study is diagnostic accuracy of the referral decision made by the Moorfields-DeepMind AI system. Secondary outcomes relate to inappropriate referral rate, cost-effectiveness analyses and human–computer interaction (HCI) analyses.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the London—Bromley Research Ethics Committee (REC 20/LO/1299). Findings will be reported through academic journals in ophthalmology, health services research and HCI.Trial registration numberISRCTN18106677 (protocol V.1.1).

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