. Silicone oil (SiO) has a well‐established role as a long‐term endotamponade agent in the management of complicated retinal detachments. Complications of intraocular SiO include keratopathy, glaucoma, cataract and subretinal migration of the oil droplets. SiO tamponade can also lead to a severe optic neuropathy caused by retrolaminar migration. Nevertheless, intracranial migration of the SiO through the optic nerve posterior to the lamina cribrosa to the optic chiasm and brain is uncommon. The mechanism is still under debate, but it has been suggested elevated intraocular pressure, macrophages or optic nerve head anatomical predispositions as potential explanations. Moreover, central scotoma may develop in eyes with SiO not only at the time of oil removal, but also during the period of tamponade. We performed a PubMed search of neuronal complications of silicone oil over a period of 25 years. This review summarizes our current understanding of the specific pathogenic mechanisms of intraocular SiO neuronal side effects, concluding that pre‐existing glaucoma and optic nerve abnormalities are the main risk factors associated with this damage. In their absence, the risk of extraocular SiO penetration is so low that the use of SiO endotamponade in complex retinal detachment patients does not need to be modified. MRI images to assess extraocular SiO migration are only necessary in very few and special cases, such as patients with optic nerve abnormalities and glaucoma.

Introduction:One of most common diabetic complications is diabetic retinopathy (DR). Sight-threatening DR can be avoided when diagnosed early and treated in a timely fashion. The aim of this study is to review current worldwide DR screening programmes and studies.Methods:A PubMed platform search was performed to find clinical trials or studies of current DR screening methods.Results:Direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy is still used, but digital photography of the retina seems to be the most efficient, objective and cost-effective.Conclusions:DR screening programmes are developed all over the world. They help to detect early sight-threatening DR, treat it in a timely fashion and in this fashion help to avoid expensive, advanced treatment or even prevent to develop blindness among working age people.

Tear fluid, composed of lipid, aqueous, and mucin layers, contains electrolytes, water, proteins, peptides, and glycoproteins. Its components may serve as diagnostic indicators of local and systemic diseases. The aim of the study was to conduct literature review in order to identify the current methods of tear collection. The most commonly used method which was relatively easy to perform and allowed to obtain sufficient tear volume for further chemical and physical analysis was selected through PubMed database search for the following keywords: tear sampling, human tears, chemical analysis of tears, physical tear analysis, animal tear sampling. Final criteria of articles selection were: human tears, tear sample collection, chemical and physical analysis of tears. Time of publication of the articles not older than 1995. The analysis of 70 articles revealed that the most common tear fluid collection methods are Schirmer tear strips and capillary tubes. Thus, we recommend the use of Schirmer strips and microcapillary tubes as the cheapest and easiest methods for sampling of tear fluid for further chemical analysis.

There is strong evidence for the use of povidone-iodine preoperatively for prophylaxis of postoperative endophthalmitis in ocular surgery; the evidence for topical antibiotics is not as compelling.

Background and Objectives: The global epidemic of diabetes, especially type 2 (DM2), is related to lifestyle changes, obesity, and the process of population aging. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most serious complication of the eye caused by diabetes. The aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in north-east Poland. Materials and Methods: The eye fundus was assessed on the basis of two-field 50 degrees color fundus photographs that showed the optic nerve and macula in the center after the pupil was dilated with 1% tropicamide. Results: The experimental group included 315 (26%) patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) and 894 (74%) patients with DM2. DM1 patients were diagnosed with DR in 32.58% of cases, with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) in 24.44% of cases, proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in 1.59% of cases, diabetic macular edema (DME) in 5.40% of cases, and PDR with DME in 0.95% of cases. DR was found in DM2 patients in 23.04% of cases, NPDR in 17.11% of cases, PDR in 1.01% of cases, DME in 4.81% of cases, and PDR with DME in 0.11% of cases. Conclusions: The presented study is the first Polish study on the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy presenting a large group of patients, and its results could be extrapolated to the whole country. Diabetic retinopathy was found in 25.48% of patients in the whole experimental group. The above results place Poland within the European average, indicating the quality of diabetic care offered in Poland, based on the number of observed complications.

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There are reports on good efficacy of silicone oil tamponade for primary and recurrent macular hole closure. Anatomical closure and visual acuity rates in pars plana vitrectomy with silicone oil and with gas filling are comparable. Gas tamponade seems to be safer and needs no more surgery. Postoperative complications in both methods are similar, but all patients with silicone oil filling need to undergo a reoperation to have the silicone removed. There are also other surgical techniques for primary macular hole closure as well as for unsuccessful primary macular hole procedures. We think that primary macular hole closure should be performed with gas tamponade, supported with different adjuvants, as a method of choice. Silicone oil tamponade could be still an alternative in cases, when there are no more efficient techniques or possibilities to treat with success recurrent macular hole.

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