Strabismus

 

Strabismus is a relatively common disease that affects about 4-5% of the world population. It is a condition in which the eyes are aligned in incorrectly and are not oriented in the same direction: an eye while fixing an object, the other can be directed inside, outside, top, or bottom.

The disease can occur at any age.

 

What is strabismus?

Strabismus is the digression of the visual axes caused by the poor functioning of the neuromuscular structures that control movement of the eyeballs.

 

Strabismus can be of various shapes, intermittent or constant over time, and mainly affect only one eye, or be alternating.

If it was not diagnosed in time in the child, strabismus can help determine a significant permanent reduction of visual acuity (amblyopia).

In adults, the symptoms of an altered indicator muscles in a coordinated operation designated to eye movement, is double vision (diplopia).

 

What causes strabismus?

The causes of strabismus may differ depending on the age of onset of disturno:

Vision defects

neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy origin or paresis of the eye muscles

endocrinological diseases

eye diseases (cataracts, ptosis, etc.)

Strabismus in children is defined as “essential” when the causes are not detectable.

In adulthood, the dependent neuro-motor apparatus modifications in charge to coordinate the movements of the eyeballs can be restrictive nature (the most common causes lie in thyroid disorders and high myopia), non-paralytic (such as failure of childhood strabismus ) and paralytic. Among the paralytic nature causes of strabismus may be part of the cranial trauma, vascular or infectious diseases, degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, diabetes.

 

What are the symptoms of strabismus?

The symptoms related to strabismus may be:

headache

eyestrain

sting

Photophobia (discomfort caused by light)

Sometimes head tilt

Blinking Eye

double vision (diplopia)

feeling dizzy

orientation difficulties

 

Diagnosis

The findings useful to diagnose strabismus are:

Eye examination

orthoptic evaluation and subsequent study of ocular motility

prismatic tests for diplopia (including, usually, in the visit orthoptic)

 

treatments

For strabismus problems regarding each age group is practiced strabismus surgery using the most innovative method called MISS (Minimally Invasive Surgery Strabismus) which constrain the surgical trauma through the use of conjunctival openings of a few millimeters, minimizes up to eliminate totally annoying problems of the post-intervention such as soreness, reddened eyes, swollen eyelids, however with the usual perdurerebbero method for a few weeks.

Interventions for the treatment of strabismus and diplopia the correction can be implemented both in local anesthesia, general anesthesia.

orbital varices

 

The orbital varices are the most frequent irregularities of the blood vessels of the eye orbit. Most of the time affecting one half of the face and are to be located in the superior-nasal quadrant of the eye.

 

What are the orbital varices?

The disease is characterized by swelling of one or more venous vessels ( “caput medusae”).

The expansion may be visible if detected in the eyelids or under the conjunctiva. Often the problem can extend to the orbit.

Bleeding and thrombosis are among the possible complications.

 

What are the causes of orbital varices?

The varicose veins may be formed as a result of various causes, such as a weakness of the wall of the vessels of congenital origin or as a result of factors such as compression by the tumor, an arterial aneurysm, an arteriovenous malformation, a trauma or infection that involves the wall of the vein. The obstruction of a vein is another possible cause that can be present alone or in conjunction with the weakness of the vessel wall.

 

What are the symptoms of orbital varices?

Onset of a orbital varices occurs with a protrusion of the eyeball non-pulsating, not associated with murmurs and intermittently. Since the orbital veins are devoid of valves, the protrusion is reversible. A cause or aggravate the disease is the increased venous pressure, associated, for example, coughing, in efforts or forced exhalation against a closed glottis (the so-called Valsalva maneuver).

 

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is clinical and to do so it is essential to perform the Valsalva maneuver (forced expiration against a closed glottis).

Other tests that may be prescribed by your doctor are:

visual field examination

Visit orthoptics

Magnetic resonance imaging of the orbits so we can thoroughly study the extent of the lesion within them

multidisciplinary consulting

 

treatments

Treatment is exclusively surgical and expects “occlusion” of varicose veins and is indicated in cases of thrombosis repeated, pain, severe protrusion of the eyeball and optic nerve compression.

The surgery is very complex and often does not run in a complete way because these injuries are fragile and tend to bleed easily enough.

 

Prevention

There are unfortunately preventive measures.

pterygium

 

Pterygium is an abnormal growth of tissue Belonging to the conjunctiva (the membrane surrounding the eyeball and the inner wall of the eyelids) on the cornea. The disease does not have a spontaneous remission and the fabric Tends to continue the growth going to disturb the cornea and limiting, thus, the capacity of vision.

 

What is pterygium?

Pterygium Appears as an opaque area of ​​a triangular shape. This area is composed of fibrovascular tissue of the conjunctiva Which continues its development on the gradually cornea. The disease Often Tends to give relapses.

 

What causes pterygium?

Excessive sun exposure and chronic dry eye can pterygium causes.

 

What are the symptoms of pterygium?

In the initial phase, the abnormal growth of the conjunctiva is asymptomatic, but in the blackberries stages advanced can cause an unpleasant sensation of having a foreign body in the eye, redness and tearing. When the tissue of the conjunctiva comes to occupy the area of ​​the cornea can cause irregular astigmatism secondary.

 

Diagnosis

The pterygium diagnosis is made by:

corneal topography. This examination is indispensable for the study of the shape and curvature of the anterior surface of the cornea and is useful to estimate the evolution of pterygium in time by checking the possible presence of a secondary irregular astigmatism.

OCT anterior segment.

Endothelial count. It consists of an estimate of the corneal endothelial surface, the deepest layer of the cornea.

 

treatments

There are two types of treatment That can be Both of medical type, either type of surgery.

Medical therapy leads to the elimination of pterygium. However, it Reduces the symptoms through the use of artificial lubricants or medicines containing steroids to be applied in topical use only in the initial stages.

Surgical therapy implements interventions removal and reconstruction of the diseased tissue with a healthy conjunctival flap.

 

Prevention

Proper eye protection from sunlight is the best method to prevent pterygium.