Biomedical subjects

R A Schimek

Publications and source records attributed to R A Schimek.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

Cryopexy treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Retinal cryoablation in patients with severe vitreous hemorrhage.

Severe diabetic retinopathy with neovascular proliferation may produce severe vitreous hemorrhage that prevents laser therapy. Retinal ablation, if indicated, can be partly accomplished by cryopexy. In a small series of cases, cryotherapy to the retina was not apparently harmful and sometimes seemed beneficial. Blood absorption seemed more rapid and recurrent bleeding less frequent; however, vitreous hemorrhages in proliferative diabetic retinopathy are too variable in their natural history of absorption and recurrence to permit any definite conclusion as to the value of this method of retinal ablation. A national collaborative study with lengthy follow-ups will be necessary to determine whether chorioretinal scars produced by laser therapy and those produced by cryotherapy will afford similar protection from the forward course of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, vitreous hemorrhage and blindness. In the meantime, this report is intended to alert ophthalmologists that retinal cryoablation is a conservation alternative to "early" vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhages from diabetic retinopathy.

Cryosurgery↗

PubMed1979

Ophthalmic manifestations of visceral larva migrans.

Two patients had ocular manifestations of infestation with visceral larva migrans. In neither case did the eye involvement improve despite thiabendazole, local and systemic steroids, and cryotherapy. The lack of ocular response to treatment may be assumed to be because of organisms were already dead. Thiabendazole therapy is probably worth trying for early ophthalmic involvement with visceral larva migrans if the organism is still alive. In most cases the diagnosis of visceral larva migrans can be made with the help of the ELISA serum antigen determination so that enucleation of the eye will not be necessary for diagnostic purposes.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed1978

Vitreous touch after phacoemulsification.

Three cases with touch of an intact anterior vitreous face to the cornea following phacoemulsification had moderate corneal edema. In each patient, a different method successfully removed the touch of the anterior vitreous face to the corneal endothelium with subsequent prompt clearing of the corneal edema. Although uncommon, an intact anterior vetreous face against the corneal endothelium is possible when a wide opening has been made in the posterior capsule and the underlying vitreous face remains intact. In one case the recognition of anterior vitreous face contact to the cornea was delayed by the severity of the corneal edema. Of the 3 methods of treatment used, the pars plana anterior vitrectomy approach seemed the most effective and the medical approach with 4% cocaine seemed to be the least predictable.

Anterior Chamber↗

PubMed1977

Down's syndrome: a ten-year group study.

Thirty individuals with the clinical diagnosis of Down's syndrome received ophthalmologic examination periodically over 10 years at a state school for exceptional children. External examination, retinoscopy, anterior segment evaluation, ophthalmoscopy, and tonometry were usually done. The ages at present range from 10 to 50 years. The sex ratio was 80% male and 20% female. Three subjects died during the course of the study. The most frequent ocular anomalies were oblique fissures, refractive error, blepharoconjunctivitis, epicanthus, and Brushfield's spots. All of these occurred in 50% or more of the subjects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Trabeculectomy with cautery.

Trabeculectomy with cautery was performed on 31 eyes of of 25 glaucoma patients uncontrolled on maximal medical therapy. The procedure was designed to combine the effectiveness of Scheie's thermal sclerostomy with the low incidence of complications associated with trabeculectomy. There was an 81 percent success rate overall and an 83 percent success rate in blacks. Average follow-up was 25 months. The average preoperative pressure was 29 mm Hg and the average postoperative pressure was 11 mm Hg. Immediate postoperative complications were minimal. The most serious long-term problem was the acceleration of lenticular changes. The procedure is technically simple with a majority of cases being performed by house staff at a relatively early stage of training. It is believed that trabeculectomy with cautery is indicated in blacks, in far-advanced glaucoma cases, and in patients in whom a conventional trabeculectomy has failed.

Aged↗

PubMed1974