Treatment for trichiasis through a combination of eyelash trephination and electrocautery

PURPOSE

This article introduces 3-mm-deep eyelash trephination combined with electrocautery as a way to increase the success rate for treatment for trichiasis.

METHOD

We have modified surgical instruments, ready-made ophthalmic microtrephine and cautery tip for a 3-mm-deep eyelash trephination and electrocautery. After eyelash trephination with microtrephine, electrocautery was added with a bended cautery tip after embedding in the trephination site. The trephined eyelids were photographed biweekly and checked for recurrence until 8 weeks after operation.

RESULT

Eyelash trephination combined with electrocautery was carried out on 20 Korean patients. The number of removed cilia was 109. Of these, the number of successfully removed hair follicles was 89. During 8 weeks, the total recurring rate of eyelash trephination combined with electrocautery was 17%. In the case of hair follicle removal success with electrocautery, the recurring rate was as low as 11%, but in the case of hair follicle removal failure with electrocautery, recurring rate is 45%. We checked the depth of removed eyelash follicles, and the mean depth was 2.03 ± 0.085 mm in this study. No serious complication was found during the period of this study.

CONCLUSION

The eyelash trephination combined with electrocautery for trichiasis is a method with a low recurrence rate and few complications.

DIY guide-needle-assisted conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy (CDCR)

In this study, we introduce DIY guide-needle-assisted conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy (CDCR), in which a guide needle helps in measuring the initial Jones tube length for insertion and reduces unnecessary handling for tube changes. Three CDCR procedures were conducted in which the length of the Jones tube was calculated using a 22-gauge DIY guide needle, and a prospective study of tube position change and migration, (a major cause of CDCR failure) was done. Wound healing was almost complete within 4 weeks postoperatively in the osteotomy site, but in cases of partial middle turbinectomy, a little more time was necessary. There was a slight change in Jones tube position in the nasal cavity compared with the expected position of original tube tip, but no tube migration from the caruncle fixation position had occurred by the final follow-up time. This guide-needle-assisted CDCR has multiple advantages, such as easy measurement of the proper initial tube size, utilization of the initial needle path, and easy replacement of tubes. Finally, this approach to CDCR can be readily applied because it uses materials ordinarily found in hospitals to create the devices needed for the procedure, so there is no additional cost.

Properties of 137Cs in marine sediments off Yangnam, Korea

Concentrations of 137Cs in sediment and seawater samples in the East Sea (Japan Sea) adjacent to Yangnam, Korea were measured and data on the physical and chemical properties of the sediments were collected. The concentrations of 137Cs in the sediment samples were in the range of less than the minimum detectable activity (MDA)-7.19 Bq/kg-dry, and the values were linearly correlated with particle size, total organic carbon (TOC), H, N or S content of the sediment. The 137Cs concentrations in the sediment samples were well fitted to a multiple regression equation with TOC contents and particle size distributions. The distribution coefficients, which indicate the degree of adsorption, of 137Cs to the sediments were strongly dependent on particle size and TOC content.