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Alper Ağca,1 Ahmet Demirok,2 Yusuf Yıldırım,1 Ali Demircan,1 Dilek Yaşa,1 Ceren Yeşilkaya,1 İrfan Perente,1 Muhittin Taşkapılı1 1Beyoğlu Eye Research and Training Hospital, 2Department of Ophthalmology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey Abstract: Small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) is an alternative to laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism. SMILE can be performed for the treatment of myopia ≤-12 D and astigmatism ≤5 D. The technology is currently only available in the VisuMax femtosecond laser platform. It offers several advantages over LASIK and PRK; however, hyperopia treatment, topography-guided treatment, and cyclotorsion control are not available in the current platform. The working principles, potential advantages, and disadvantages are discussed in this review. Keywords: SMILE, small-incision lenticule extraction, femtosecond laser, laser in situ keratomileusis, corneal biomechanics

Purpose: To assess the long-term effects on visual outcomes and corneal aberrations of irrigating the interface during the small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery for managing myopia and myopic astigmatism., Methods: In 47 patients who underwent bilateral SMILE surgery for myopia and myopic astigmatism, one eye was irrigated with 1.0 ml of balanced salt solution via cannula (Group 1) and the other eye was not irrigated (Group 2). Visual and refractive outcomes of 94 eyes were analyzed on the first day, first week, first month, sixth month, and first year. Preoperative and postoperative corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) obtained from Sirius corneal tomography (Costruzione Strumenti Oftalmici, Florence, Italy) were evaluated in both groups. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography (Heidelberg Spectralis; Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) was used for interface evaluation on the first postoperative day. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded., Results: Preoperative spherical, cylindrical, and spherical equivalent values were similar in both groups (P values: 0.913, 0.796, and 0.876, respectively). Statistically significant increases in mean HOAs and coma values were observed in both groups during the postoperative follow-up periods compared to the preoperative period (each P value <0.05). No significant differences were noted between the two groups concerning visual acuity, refractive values, and corneal aberrations throughout all postoperative follow-up periods (each P value >0.05). Epithelial inoculation developed in one eye in the irrigated group, and diffuse lamellar keratitis developed in one eye in the non-irrigated group., Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the visual, refractive, and wavefront aberration outcomes, both in the short and long term, were comparable between cases with and without interface irrigation following lenticule removal from the stromal pocket in SMILE surgery., (Copyright © 2025 Copyright: © 2025 Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.)

Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic factors affecting graft survival in patients undergoing penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) for infectious keratitis., Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent PKP for keratitis in our hospital between 2013 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who underwent therapeutic PKP at the inflammatory stage and were followed for at least 12 months were included in the study. Age, gender, follow-up period, time between diagnosis and surgery, lens status, presence of limbal involvement, presence of corneal ulceration, perforation, or corneal abscess, type of microorganism detected in culture, number of fortified medications used before surgery and duration of use, preoperative and postoperative visual acuity, postoperative graft transparency, postoperative complications, recurrence of infection, rate of re-keratoplasty, and indication for and timing of re-keratoplasty were recorded. The relationship between these findings and anatomic, therapeutic, and functional success were evaluated., Results: Fifty-nine patients were included in the study; 40 (67.8%) were male and 19 (32.2%) were female, and the mean age was 59.78±19.46 (6-91) years. Anatomic success was achieved in 58 patients (98.3%). Therapeutic success was achieved in 47 patients (79.7%) and there was a significant relationship between therapeutic success and re-keratoplasty and early re-keratoplasty (p<0.001 for both). Thirty-two patients (54.2%) had functional success and there was a significant relationship between the absence of postoperative complications and functional success (p=0.014)., Conclusion: PKP is an effective treatment option in treatment-resistant keratitis or keratitis with impending perforation. The absence of postoperative complications and performing early re-keratoplasty in patients with recurrence increase the success rate.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) in patients with subretinal neovascularization secondary to type 2 juxtafoveal telangiectasia., Materials and Methods: Ten eyes of 10 patients were included in this retrospective study. All cases were treated with IVB (1.25 mg bevacizumab). Visual acuity and slit-lamp anterior and posterior segment examinations were performed at each visit. Central macular thickness (CMT) and intraretinal/subretinal fluid were evaluated via spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). Loss of a line in visual acuity chart and presence of fluid on OCT were defined as criteria for repeated treatment., Results: The mean age of patients was 66.0±7.0 years (56-75). The mean follow-up time was 54.7±16.0 month (24-72). The mean BCVA was 0.62±0.35 (0.00-1.00) logMAR at baseline and 0.54±0.35 (0.00-1.00) logMAR at final exam (p=0.03). The mean CMT was 251±25.4 µm at baseline and 239±39.3 µm at final exam (p=0.01). Patients received an average of 1.7±1.0 IVB injections during follow-up. At baseline, all cases had intraretinal/subretinal fluid. There was no fluid at final examination of all cases., Conclusion: IVB treatment may be effective in the treatment of subretinal neovascularization secondary to type 2 juxtafoveal telangiectasia., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) in the resolution of vitreous hemorrhage (VH) secondary to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)., Materials and Methods: Seventy eyes of 70 patients (43 male, mean age 55.6±12.2 years) diagnosed with VH secondary to PDR were evaluated retrospectively. Demographic characteristics of the patients, baseline and final clinical results, and the interventions the patients were subject to were recorded. The patients who received IVB injections (group 1, n=29) were compared to those who did not receive injections (group 2, n=41) in terms of VH clearance time and surgery rates., Results: The mean follow-up time was 14.5±6.1 months in group 1 and 18.4±9.6 months in group 2 (p=0.185). The mean visual acuity was similar between the groups at baseline and at the last visit (for all p>0.05). Panretinal photocoagulation could be applied in 86% of subjects in group 1 and in 58% in group 2 2 within the first month (p=0.016). VH clearance time was not different between the groups (2.3±2.1 months in group 1 and 3.4±2.6 months in group 2, p=0.146). The number of subjects requiring surgery was 7 (24%) in group 1 and 20 (48.8%) in group 2 (p=0.048)., Conclusion: IVB was found effective in cases with VH secondary to PDR in terms of reducing the need for surgery and increasing the rate of subjects to whom panretinal photocoagulation could be applied in the early period, although there was no impact on final visual acuity., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors. Financial Disclosure: The authors declared that this study received no financial support.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of adjuvant intracameral triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on the surgical results of trabeculectomy with mitomycin C., Materials and Methods: All consecutive trabeculectomy cases performed in the glaucoma clinic between July 2012 and December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed from the patient charts. Only those with follow-up of 12 months or longer were included. Patients with intraoperative intracameral TA (study group, n=19) were compared to those without TA (control group, n=21) in terms of surgical success, intraocular pressure (IOP) change, medication use and complications., Results: Forty eyes of 31 patients (21 male/10 female, mean age 64.2±13.8 years) were included in the study. The mean follow-up period was 20.9±5.1 months and 20.7±6.7 months in the study and control groups, respectively (p=0.830). Baseline IOP was 26.4±9.9 and 25.2±7.6 mmHg (p=0.979), and final IOP was 12.7±2.6 and 13.6±3 mmHg in both groups respectively (p=0.226). At the final follow-up, complete success was observed in 68.4% and 52.4% of the study and control groups (p=0.349) and anti-glaucoma medication was used by 31.6% (mean number of medications: 0.79±1.2) and 47.6% (mean number of medications: 1.33±1.7), respectively (p>0.05). Bleb encapsulation, leakage, suture-lysis and hypotony rates were similar in both groups (for all, p>0.05). Cataract progression was noted in six (35.3%) and in five (26.3%) of the phakic eyes in the study and control groups, respectively (p=0.720)., Conclusion: When used intracamerally, TA did not increase the complication rate in trabeculectomy surgery. Although the group that received TA showed lower IOP levels, use of fewer medications and fewer eyes requiring medication, the differences did not reach significance., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors. Financial Disclosure: The authors declared that this study received no financial support.

Purpose: The present study aimed to report the outcomes of patients with progressive keratoconus who were treated via accelerated crosslinking (CXL) 6 months earlier and to determine the factors that promoted improved visual acuity after treatment., Methods: This retrospective study included 35 eyes of 34 patients with progressive keratoconus who underwent CXL. Topographical measurements were obtained preoperatively and in the first, third, and sixth months postoperatively using a rotating Scheimpflug camera. The uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), flat keratometry (K) value (K1), steep K value (K2), average K value (avgK), topographic cylindrical value (Cyl), apical keratoscopy front (AKf), apical keratoscopy back (AKb), symmetry index front (SIf), symmetry index back (SIb), and thinnest point of the cornea (ThkMin) were recorded., Results: At the 6-month follow-up, the mean UCVA and BCVA values were improved, and the K values remained stable. Statistically significant decreases in AKf (p=0.04) and the thinnest point of the cornea (p=0.001) and a statistically significant increase in AKb (p=0.01) were observed. A correlation analysis revealed that the preoperative BCVA, UCVA, K1, K2, avgK, AKf, and AKb values significantly affected visual acuity at the 6-month follow-up., Conclusions: Accelerated CXL is an effective treatment for the prevention or even reversal of keratoconus progression. The preoperative K values and apexes of the anterior and posterior cornea were found to affect visual acuity at 6 months after accelerated CXL. Both AKb steepening and AKf flattening appear to be important factors in the stabilization of keratometric values and improvement of visual outcomes.

Purpose: To evaluate the immediate intraocular pressure (IOP) changes following intravitreal dexamethasone implantation., Methods: Thirty-four eyes of 34 consecutive patients (16 females and 18 males; mean age, 59.9 ± 9.0 years) with diagnosis of macular edema secondary to diabetic retinopathy (20 eyes) or retinal vein occlusion (14 eyes) scheduled for intravitreal dexamethasone implantation (Ozurdex) were included in the study. IOP at baseline, minute 1, minute 10, hour 1, and day 1 was measured using Tono-Pen XL. As a subgroup, the eyes with visible reflux after the implantation were analyzed separately for IOP change., Results: Overall, the only significant change in relation to baseline was observed immediately after the implantation (16.5 ± 3.4 mmHg at baseline vs. 13.5 ± 5.7 mmHg at minute 1, P = 0.004). In eyes with reflux (N = 9), the mean IOP was 15.4 ± 2.4, 6.3 ± 4.2, 10.1 ± 4.4, 15.8 ± 2.9, and 15.6 ± 2.2 mmHg at baseline, minute 1, minute 10, hour 1, and day 1, respectively. The mean IOP was significantly lower at minute 1 (P = 0.008) and minute 10 (P = 0.013). In eyes without reflux (N = 25), the mean IOP was not significantly altered at any time point (for all P > 0.05). The rate of hypotony (IOP <6 mmHg) at minute 1, minute 10, hour 1, and day 1 was 8.8%, 2.9%, 0%, and 0%, respectively. Wound leakage and choroidal detachment were not observed in any of the eyes., Conclusions: The injection procedure of the Ozurdex implant itself does not affect IOP, except in the case of observable reflux, in which case the IOP temporarily decreases.