We present the combined surgery of non-penetrating deep sclerectomy with insertion of the implant in the supraciliary space as an effective and safe surgery for patients with both cataract and primary open angle glaucoma. This study included 20 eyes of 16 patients who were followed up during 12 months. We found a significant intraocular pressure reduction, changing from a preoperative mean of 23 ± 5 mmHg to a postoperative mean of 18 ± 3 mmHg (p<0.002). Similarly, a significant reduction in the number of glaucoma drugs needed was observed, varying from 2.5 ± 0.9 drops per patient to 0.7 ± 0.9 (p<0.0002) at the end of the study. We also report a significant improvement in best-corrected visual acuity, from 5/10 ± 2/10 to 8/10 ± 2/10 (p<0.006), one year after the combined surgery. The only intraoperative complication observed was the microperforation of the trabeculo-descemetic membrane (TDM) and postoperative complications were iris incarceration, seidel test positivity and microhyphema. All these complications resolved successfully.
Despite national guidelines in the UK, patients with low-grade periocular malignancies frequently wait a period of months for their surgery. We have devised a protocol of pre-treatment with an immune modulator in an attempt to reduce the tumour size whilst patients await surgery. We present a case series of 5 patients who used Imiquimod 5% cream (Aldara) for 4 weeks as an adjuvant treatment prior to the excision of periocular nodular basal cell carcinomas. We also assessed tolerability of the cream using a visual analogue scale and recorded adverse events. Our patients had an average 22% reduction in tumour area (range 3.31%-39.64%) whilst awaiting surgery. The medication had a good tolerability profile and there were no ocular adverse events. Due to the promising results, this pilot study demonstrates the feasibility and value of a planned multicentre, prospective research project to further explore these initial findings.
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