Faculty Bibliography

Purpose: To learn the long-term outcome of ciliary ablation with diode laser contact transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TSCPC) in eyes with recalcitrant, severe glaucoma. Methods: Twenty-seven eyes of 27 patients with medically and surgically uncontrollable glaucoma and no previous ciliary ablation enrolled in this study. After baseline measurements and informed consent, the authors performed contact TSCPC. There were 14 pseudophakic, 7 aphakic, and 6 phakic eyes; 15 of these had primary open-angle glaucoma and the remainder had various secondary or open- or closed-angle glaucomas. Median follow-up was 19 months (range, 6 weeks to 27 months). initially after laser surgery, glaucoma medications were continued, except for a 2-week interruption of miotics; the ophthalmologist later adjusted medications in accordance with the patient's status. The authors define failure of TSCPC in two ways, based on IOP measurements during two consecutive study examinations 6 weeks or more after intervention or at the final examination: (1) less than 20% intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction from baseline, and (2) either less than 20% reduction of IOP from baseline or IOP greater than 22 mmHg. Results: For 27 eyes, the baseline IOP (mean +/- standard deviation) was 36.4 +/- 12.4 mmHg (range, 20-70 mmHg). The mean IOP at last examination was 20.3 +/- 8.7 mmHg. With failure definition 1, the cumulative probability of success was 84% at 1 year and 62% at 2 years. With failure definition 2 the cumulative probability of success was 72% at 1 year and 52% at 2 years. At the last examination, 19 eyes (70%) had visual acuity improved within one line of visual acuity at eligibility. One of these eyes, with light perception vision at entry, declined to no light perception. Three eyes (11%) lost two lines of vision and five (19%) lost three or more lines. Conclusions: Contact diode laser TSCPC yields long-term improvement of IOP and preservation of visual acuity in a substantial proportion of eyes with severe, medically uncontrolled glaucoma.

Spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks of temporal bone origin are more prevalent than once believed. Twenty-eight of the 61 cases documented in the world literature have been reported since 1992. All but four of these cases involved unilateral defects. The authors have previously reported experiences with 12 cases, with the vast majority of defects localized to the tegmen tympani. These patients also had demonstrated a single area of bone and dural dehiscence. We report two additional cases of spontaneous CSF leak originating from multiple/distant skull base defects. As in previously reported multisite cases, one of our patients demonstrated an elevated opening pressure on lumbar puncture. Significant time intervals existed between leak site presentations, which emphasizes the importance of careful follow-up for treated patients. Potential etiologies and associated factors are also discussed. This patient subset contributes another dimension to the evolving natural history of spontaneous CSF leakage