Open globe injuries remain a serious public health problem, resulting in significant vision loss. Open globe injuries are mostly seen in the young, middle-aged, and male working population. Additional preventive measures should be taken for the individuals in these groups.

The authors' study revealed that a high proportion of all OGIs in the authors' region occurred in children under 17 years old. As with adults, OGI in children often results in significant vision loss. However, considering the varying degrees of visual recovery demonstrated by some of the authors' patients, particularly those with no light perception at admission, the authors believe an eye-sparing approach is warranted in pediatric OGI.

It may be possible to prescribe glasses starting from two weeks after an uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery for most patients.

Aim To investigate the effects of fibrovascular traction and the pooling of tears at the pterygium apex on the corneal topographic changes induced by pterygium. Methods A total of 16 eyes of 14 cases with primary pterygium were included in the study. A computerized corneal topography system was used for corneal topography examinations. Baseline keratographs were taken two times at straight gaze. A repeat corneoscope photograph was immediately obtained in temporal gaze. Then the tears at the pterygium apex were dried with a cellulose sponge, and a new corneoscope photograph was immediately obtained without allowing one to blink. Corneal topographic maps (numeric maps) were divided into 301 fields in 24 meridians. One colour was allocated to each field, representing its mean refractive power for all groups. In all eyes, keratometric astigmatism at the 3 mm central cornea and total mean corneal refractive power were found. Data were compared using pairedsamples two-tailed t-tests.Results Keratometric astigmatism at the 3 mm central cornea was significantly reduced at the temporal gaze (3.1072.34 D, t ¼ 3.40, P ¼ 0.027) and dried eyes (2.1271.01 D, t ¼ 4.74, P ¼ 0.001) according to the first baseline measurement (4.3171.91 D) of the total mean corneal refractive power was found to be 43.4571.28 D (39.29-45.87) at the first baseline measurement. There was no change at the temporal gaze (43.5471.06 D, P40.05). However, the total corneal refractive power was significantly higher in dried eyes (44.2670.93 D, t ¼ 34.92, Po0.001). The steepest region of corneal topography was a superior quadrant, and the flattest area was a nasal quadrant at the baseline. At the temporal gaze, the cornea was significantly flatter in the superior and inferior sides of the pterygium meridian. After dried pooling of tears, topographic abnormalities returned, and the cornea became more uniform and symmetric. Conclusion We conclude that the pooling of tears at the pterygium apex plays an important role, but fibrovascular traction has no effect on the corneal topographical changes induced by pterygium.

Upper lid pressure on the superior corneal incisions led to fluctuating, against-the-rule astigmatism that was significantly higher than that induced by temporal incisions.

Hereditary hearing impairment is a genetically heterogeneous disorder. To date, 49 autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (ARNSHI) loci have been described, and there are more than 16 additional loci announced. In 25 of the known loci, causative genes have been identified. A genome scan and fine mapping revealed a novel locus for ARNSHI (DFNB63) on chromosome 11q13.2-q13.4 in a five-generation Turkish family (TR57). The homozygous linkage interval is flanked by the markers D11S1337 and D11S2371 and spans a 5.3-Mb interval. A maximum two-point log of odds score of 6.27 at a recombination fraction of theta = 0.0 was calculated for the marker D11S4139. DFNB63 represents the eighth ARNSHI locus mapped to chromosome 11, and about 3.33 Mb separate the DFNB63 region from MYO7A (DFNB2/DFNB11). Sequencing of coding regions and exon-intron boundaries of 13 candidate genes, namely SHANK2, CTTN, TPCN2, FGF3, FGF4, FGF19, FCHSD2, PHR1, TMEM16A, RAB6A, MYEOV, P2RY2 and KIAA0280, in genomic DNA from an affected individual of family TR57 revealed no disease-causing mutations.

* OBJECTIVE: The aim of this prospective randomized clinical study was to evaluate the effect of pterygium surgery on the corneal topography using a computerized corneal topography system. * PATIENTS AND METHODS: Computerized corneal topography was performed on 27 patients with primary pterygium before and after pterygium excision surgery. The topographical changes that occurred following surgery were evaluated using paired and unpaired two-tailed t-test and Pearson coefficient of correlation analyses. Simulated keratometric astigmatism at the central 3 mm and the total mean refractive powers of the whole cornea were measured before and after surgery. Following surgery, flattened or steepened corneal areas were determined. * RESULTS: Simulated keratometric astigmatism at 3 mm was found to be 2.30 ± 2.08 D (0.2 - 7.63) preoperatively and 0.82 ± 0.74 D (0.06 - 2.79) postoperatively. The difference between these two values was statistically significant (t = -3.46, P = 0.002). Total mean refractive power of the whole cornea was found to be 42.26 ± 0.63 (40.80 - 43.64) preoperatively and 43.69 ± 0.88 (41.50 - 44.90) postoperatively and the difference was 1.42 ± 0.87. There was a statistically significant high difference (t - 28.36, P < 0.001). When preoperative and postoperative corneal topographies were compared, the whole cornea was found steeper at the postoperative period except a little region in the superior nasal quadrant. * CONCLUSION: We believe that corneal topographical changes caused by the pterygium are almost reversible after surgical treatment, and postoperatively the cornea becomes steeper. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers 2001;32:35-40]

Carotid endarterectomy performed under local or general anaesthesia is associated with low morbidity and mortality rates. Local anaesthesia enables the surgeon to assess the neurological status during the procedure. It is also associated with decreased shunt usage, decreased operative time and, in high risk patients, lower intensive care unit requirement and hospital stay.