Sir, Primary surgical management in a case of subtotal iridodialysis Iridodialysis is the separation of the iris bast' from the ciliary body and the scleral spm. The iris root is the thinnest and weakest part of iris anatomy, making it 1 \'Ulnerable to ocular trauma. \\'(, desnibe a case where traumatic iridodialysis was sustaim'd resulting in secondary glaucoma. Surgical interwntion invoh'ing an anterior chamber washout and removal of necrotic iris brought about control of the intraocular pressure. Case' rt?l'Mt A 66-year-old man susteHned blw)t trauma to his right eye whilst repairing his garage door. Visual al"uity in this eye WclS hand movements. On slit-lamp examinati('O an iridodialy!'is of 3300 W,)S pr('sC'nt, as was a microscopic hyphaema (Fig. 1). There was a vitreous haemorrhage, with no fundal view. The lens was subluxed postt'riorly and cataractous. ThE-' iris appeared to be ne':l'lltic 111ere Fig. I, C(l/ollr l'ilvt"grtll'iI <holL'l1IS �lIbt(}tal md(}dillly�is. was zonular d('hi�cenct' exCt'pt inferiorly \'Ilhen' the iris 4 :; was stll! attached. The intraocular pressure was 40 taUooing. , In cast's wht're a cataract has developed and e oc mmHg. An ultrasound scan showed a f1clt rC'tinel. '1 he thE.' l ns zonule is stablC', rrostC'd intra ular ll'nses have patient was treated with topical steroids emd beta­ been implanted v.ath �uccess." blockers, togl'ther with systemic aceta/.olamidl' emd mannitol. None of this served to rt'duce the intraocular R·fermces pres�ure, which fluctuated between 40 and 00 mrnHg. A 1. Tasmiln W, Iaeger EA. Duane'� ophthalmology on CD-ROM. paracentesis was performed and the dialys('d iris ti,;;sue Philaddphlel. N�'w York: Llppmwtt-R.well, 1Q<i6. removed. Due to significant damage to the lens zonule, 2. Rumen M, Sin�er L. Traumatic aniriditl. liT J Ophth.llmol the lE-'n� was removed using .m intracclpsu\ar techniqUl'. 1973;57:611·4. An anterior \'itrectomy was then performeJ. By the next 1. Wachler BB, Krueger RR. Doublf'-annl'd f>.kCannt'l1 suture for rl'pair of tr,llImatic iriJlldielIY�ls. Am J 0phthalmol day the intraocular pressure was l� rnmHg, and 19')1>;122 IO'l 1l1. remained controlled 4 months later. By this time, most of 4. Nfarul10 M, �-"pola A. P,'SqU<.l R, Agostini 1\:. Bille�tr<.lzzi E. the vitreous haemorrhage held deart'd, and thl' p.ltient In!' diaphragm implan!atic'n in po<;t-tral1mahc .miridia and was achi<'\-ing 6;12 vision using a coloured aphakic tra.:tioll,11 rchn,11 cil'tdchmcnt rur I Ophtll.llmo! 1'l97;7:171-5. contact len.,. 5. Rcl'ci l"". Corneal lilttooin� to reciuce �1.lTe in C<.lses ot Ir.Jumcll!c ins lo"s Com.'a 1<1<)4;13.401-5. b. V.1jpa ·el' RH. M.Jjji AB , Tahcnan K. HOnl'\,ilT SC;. frosted Iris C(1I1/1IIenl � mtraocul<.lr lCI\� for traum<.lti.:: J.l1IridlJ wlth c,lt<.lract. Rmnen and Singer2 described a ca5C of persistent Ophth.llnuc Sur� l<')9-l,25:7}(1-1 secondary glaucoma d!;'spite good vbual outcome Paul Cauch following traumatic iridodialysis. Possible mechanisms H C. Cht'n for the de\'elopment of glaucoma include angle Roger Holden rect'sbilln, trabeculitis, trabecular damage, or debris in Oepartment 01 Opr.thMlrl1ology the anterior chamber. Surgical technique5 have been Dcrbyshlr� Royal Inj IrrTliHY Derby, UK formulated to enable repair of l'ven a l.1rgC' iridodialysis, .1 but with viable iris tissue. Paul Cilueh, �e;;: We ";llggest that the cam,e of the pressure rise in this Depdrtment 01 Ophthalmoklgy case was inflammation from necrotic tissue in the Ep�om and <,t Hellier � NI is Trust anterior chamber. 111(' rapid rt>�olution of the glaucoma Carshalton Surrey SM5 lA"\', uK precludes any significant trabecular trauma. Lenticular damage may have b,'!;'n ,1 CClntributory factor, but the lens was not obstructing the drainage angle. Sir, In cases of subtotal iridodialysis, wht'rt! the iris tiSSUl' is unlikely to b(' viable, we suggest edrly removal of Treatment of preretinal Valsalva haemorrhages with necrotic tissue to avoid secondary glaucoma. neodymium:'\'AG laser [f removal of tht> iris is inE.'vitable, problems of both Valsclh'.l retinopathy is caused by a sudden inCfl'.1St' in cosmesis and glare resull. Several strategies have been intrathoradc or intra-abdominal pressure clgainst a employed to overcome these problems. Implantation of dosed glottis (Vollsalva's manllC'U\'fC') and is an iris diaphragm has been described, and so has cOn1ea! charact�rised by rupture of superficial retinoll capillaries 791 (a) Fig. 2. One week after Nd: YAG laser treatment the right foveolar haemorrhage has completely cleared. renal failure, for which she received haemofiltration. After 3 weeks of intensive care she was allowed to self­ ventilate. Once able to communicate she complained of blurred vision in both eyes. Her best corrected visual acuity was counting fingers in the right eye and 6/36 in the left eye, with no relative afferent pupillary defect. Visual field tests showed a central visual field defect in both eyes. Examination of the anterior segment was unremarkable; however, the fundus examination revealed numerous retinal haemorrhages in both eyes (Fig. I), some flame-shaped in the nerve fibre layer, and several large preretinal round 'cannonball' haemorrhages. One of the latter covered the foveola in the right eye accounting for the poor visual (b) acuity. The visual acuity in the left eye was decreased Fig. 1. Retinal haemorrhages in the right (a) and left (b) eyes at due to several small intraretinal foveal haemorrhages. presentation. The right foveolar haemorrhage was treated with an Ocular Instruments Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (five classically causing 'cannonball-shaped' haemorrhages.1 pulses of 3 mJ) using an OMRA-HM Mainster High Valsalva retinopathy is one cause of a sudden subhyaloid Magnification laser lens. The laser was aimed at the haemorrhage; however, more common causes include inferior edge of the haemorrhage away from the foveola. proliferative diabetic retinopathy and a retinal artery The haemorrhage immediately began to disperse and macroaneurysm. These haemorrhages usually resolve had completely cleared 1 week later (Fig. 2). The patient's over several months} but some reports have cited the visual acuity improved to 6/12 in the right eye and 6/36 use of laser to aid resolution in cases of diabetic and in the left eye. macroaneurysmal preretinal haemorrhage.3-5 Case report Comment A 44-year-old Caucasian woman was referred for an Valsalva retinopathy in this case most likely occurred ophthalmic assessment due to decreased visual acuity in during the prolonged resuscitation after respiratory both eyes. This patient had been diagnosed with arrest or alternatively during episodes of coughing or papillary carcinoma of the thyroid and 7 weeks earlier straining whilst being ventilated. The problem may have had had a total thyroidectomy and left functional neck been exacerbated by thrombolysis and anticoagulation. dissection. She appeared to make a satisfactory recovery; Spontaneous clearing of the premacular haemorrhage however, 5 days later she suffered a respiratory arrest. usually occurs but may take several months. In view of She was resuscitated and thrombolysed with intravenous this patient having reduced vision in both eyes and streptokinase for a suspected pulmonary embolus, before because of her poor life expectancy, we elected to being transferred to intensive care, where she was perform Nd:YAG laser puncture of the posterior hyaloid ventilated by continuous positive pressure ventilation face on the premacular right fundal haemorrhage. This (CPPV). She remained rather hypotensive with cleared the prefoveal haemorrhage providing rapid electrocardiographic ischaemic changes, and developed visual recovery. Ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein 792 angiography (acknowledged to be the most sensitive test for laser-induced retinal damage6) confirmed that no iatrogenic damage had occurred. Although this treatment has had some success with diabetic and macroaneurysmal preretinal haemorrhages, to our knowledge it has not been used before in treating Valsalva preretinal haemorrhages. References 1. Gass JDM. Stereoscopic atlas of macular diseases: diagnosis and treatment. 3rd ed. St Louis: CV Mosby, 1987. 2. Duane TD. Valsalva haemorrhagic retinopathy. Am J Ophthalmol 1973;75:637-42. 3. Raymond LA. Neodymium:YAG laser treatment for haemorrhages under the internal limiting membrane and Fig. 1. Ultrasonogram showing scleral thickening overlying the posterior hyaloid face in the macula. Ophthalmology tumour mass (arrowhead). 1995;102:406-11. 4. Ezra E, Dowler DG, Burgess F, Sehmi K, Hamilton PA. showed an 8 X 16 mm choroidal mass with features Identifying maculopathy after neodymium:YAG suggestive of melanoma (Fig. 1). The sclera overlying the membranotomy for dense diabetic premacular haemorrhage. tumour mass was thickened, but there was no evidence Ophthalmology 1996;103:1568-74. 5. lijima H, Satoh S, Tsukahara S. Nd:YAG laser photodisruption of extrascleral extension (Fig. 1). In view of the tumour for preretinal haemorrhage due to retinal macroaneurysm. mass and intractable pain, the eye was enucleated. There Retina 1998;18:430-4. was no evidence of systemic metastasis. There was no 6. Borland RG, Brennan DH, Marshall J, Viveash JP. The role of history or clinical evidence of systemic collagen vascular fluorescein angiography in the detection of laser-induced diseases. Serological screening for connective tissue damage to the retina: a threshold study for Q-switched, neodymium, and ruby lasers. Exp Eye Res 1978;27:471-93. diseases including rheumatoid arthritis was negative. R.A. Bourne Pathological findings. Macroscopic examination revealed a S.J. Talks firm globe measuring 22 mm in diameter. A light-brown A.B. Richards Department of Ophthalmology tumour, 14 X 5 mm in cross-section, was present in the Royal Berkshire Hospital inferior part of the posterior segment.