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Background: Plaque brachytherapy is commonly used in the management of choroidal melanomas. The surgical steps usually involve creating a conjunctival peritomy, fixing the recti muscles, with or without disinserting them based on the location of the lesion, and placing the plaque. The inferior oblique muscle is attached close to the macula, and in cases of perimacular or peripapillary lesions, the muscle needs to be sacrificed., Purpose: The authors here demonstrate a novel technique of placing radioactive plaque without disinserting the inferior oblique muscle in cases of perimacular or peripapillary choroidal melanomas., Synopsis: The video demonstrates how the "disinsert, retract, and rotate technique" of brachytherapy plaque placement can be performed and what are the fundamentals behind this technique. The authors have performed this procedure multiple times and there has been no incidence of plaque tilt or migration., Highlights: In perimacular and peripapillary choroidal melanoma brachytherapy plaque placement, the inferior oblique muscle can be spared. The simple technique does not lead to any tilt or migration of the radioactive plaque., Video Link: https://youtu.be/YMIg3rYyp2o., (Copyright © 2024 Copyright: © 2024 Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.)

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in India causing increased mortality. Lack of awareness leads to detection of breast cancer in advanced stages and is difficult to cure then., Objective: A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of breast cancer and its screening among women in India., Methodology: Literature search was done on electronic databases including PubMed and Google Scholar. Specific keywords related to breast cancer were used such as breast cancer or breast carcinoma AND awareness or knowledge or attitude or education or practice AND women or females AND India. Searches were limited to articles published in English language in the last 10 years., Results: Fifteen studies were selected with a total of 7545 women between the age of 14 and 75 years. Study population varied from health-care professionals, rural and urban women to general population. Majority of the women were married with illiteracy levels ranging from 5.6% to 42.8%. The knowledge of breast cancer was seen to be 62.99%. Knowledge and attitude toward breast cancer screening were 78.67% and 71.10%, respectively. Most reviewed studies showed a significant association of the knowledge of breast cancer with the education level, marital status, and age of study participants., Conclusion: Majority of the population knew about breast cancer and had low percentage for practice of screening methods. Programs on information about breast cancer are required. Women from all populations need to be motivated for positive change toward proper screening, early detection, and treatment of breast cancer., Competing Interests: None

Purpose: To report the association of procollagen-lysine 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 2 (PLOD2) mutations with bilateral primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) in monozygotic twins and with nondominant juvenile-onset primary open-angle glaucoma (JOAG)., Methods: We utilized family-based whole-exome sequencing to detect disease-causing mutations in a pair of monozygotic twins with de-novo PCG and compared its existence in 50 nonfamilial cases of JOAG and 30 healthy controls. To validate the identified mutations, direct Sanger sequencing was performed. For further evaluation of gene expression in the ocular tissues, we performed whole-mount in situ hybridization in zebrafish embryos., Results: We identified a novel missense mutation (c.1925A>G, p.Tyr642Cys) in the PLOD2 gene in the monozygotic twin pair with PCG and another missense mutation (c.1880G>A, p.Arg627Gln) in one JOAG patient. Both mutations identified were heterozygous. Neither the parents of the twins nor the parents of the JOAG patient harbored the mutation and it was probably a de-novo change. The zebrafish in situ hybridization revealed expression of the PLOD2 gene during embryogenesis of the eye., Conclusion: We observed an association of PLOD2 mutations with PCG and with nonfamilial JOAG. This new gene needs to be further investigated for its role in pathways associated with glaucoma pathogenesis., Competing Interests: None

Purpose: A pilot randomized control trial to compare the efficacy and side effects of intralesional and oral propranolol in periorbital and eyelid capillary hemangiomas., Methods: Twenty patients were prospectively randomized to two groups of ten each. Group 1 was initiated on oral propranolol 1 mg/kg/day titrated to final dose of 3 mg/kg/day over 1 week which was continued for 6 months and then tapered over 1 week; Group 2 received 3 doses of direct intralesional propranolol hydrochloride 1 mg/ml; 0.2 ml/cm 4-6 weeks apart. Hemangioma area and corneal astigmatism were measured., Results: Within each group at 6 months there was a significant reduction in area (group 1: 83.48 ± 11.67%,P= 0.0019; group 2: 67.78 ± 21.71%,P= 0.0019) and improvement in astigmatism (pre, post: group 1: 2.98D @ 179.8°, 1.13D @ 179.8°,P= 0.0045; group 2: 1.62D @ 90.16°, 0.75D @ 179.9°,P= 0.0001). There was no difference in area reduction (P = 0.056), change in appearance (P = 0.085), ptosis (P = 0.23) and side effects (lethargy, poor feeding;P= 0.171) between the two groups., Conclusion: Efficacy and side effects with intralesional propranolol are comparable to oral propranolol for periorbital and eyelid lesions., Competing Interests: None

The treatment of retinoblastoma (Rb) has improved significantly in recent times. Worldwide, there is an increasing trend to use conservative treatment modalities that aim to preserve the globe as well as vision with minimum morbidity. Recently, the use of targeted delivery of chemotherapy to the eye in the form of selective intra-arterial and intravitreal chemotherapy has shown promising results. Radiotherapy is beneficial in selected cases, either in the form of plaque brachytherapy or as external beam radiotherapy. Orbital disease carries a poor prognosis for survival. However, a multimodal treatment protocol has improved survival in children with extraocular disease. Nevertheless, challenges remain, especially for the developing world. This review aims to highlight recent advances in the management of Rb that have contributed towards improving treatment outcomes and also discuss the challenges ahead, with special reference to the Indian scenario.

Purpose: To study the clinical profile of children aged <10 years presenting with epiphora at a tertiary eye care center, to compare the clinical profile between the early onset (<3 years) and the late-onset (≥3 years) group, and to study the success of different treatment modalities., Materials and Methods: A prospective nonrandomized observational study was conducted in 209 eyes of 167 patients (42 bilateral cases). The main outcome measure was postoperative relief of presenting symptoms and signs at 3 months follow-up., Results: Fifty-five percent cases (92 of 167) were early-onset cases, and 45% (75 of 167) were late onset. The male:female ratio was 1.9:1. Seventy-five percent cases were unilateral. The etiological profile was -76% cases of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO), 18% traumatic/surgical, 4% acquired NLDO, and 2% punctal causes. The overall success rate of all the treatment modalities in our study was 80% (167/208) -82% for sac massage, 77% for probing, 79% for intubation dacryocystorhinostomy, and 100% for punctal surgery. A significant association was noted between the treatment outcome and laterality (P = 0.04), presence of infection (P = 0.032), symptom severity (P = 0.027), history of previous treatment (P = 0.024), and age. No significant association was found between the treatment outcome and gender (P = 0.73), socioeconomic status (P = 0.43), etiology (P = 0.45), and treatment modality (P = 0.33)., Conclusion: This study describes the complete range of causes and treatment modalities for pediatric epiphora and highlights the etiology, signs and symptoms, treatment, and the comparative outcome between the early versus the late-onset group and analyses the factors predictive of the outcome.

Purpose: To prospectively study the clinical outcome and regression patterns of early retinoblastoma (Groups A and B) after systemic chemotherapy and focal consolidation in Indian children., Materials and Methods: Group A eyes were treated with focal therapy (transpupillary thermotherapy/cryotherapy) and Group B with systemic chemoreduction and focal therapy. Outcome measures were efficacy and safety of treatment, risk factors for treatment failure, regression patterns, and factors predictive of regression patterns., Results: Of 119 eyes (216 tumors), 14 (11.8%) were Group A and 105 (88.2%) were Group B eyes. The mean follow-up was 22.6 months. Tumor control was achieved in 111/119 eyes (93.3% overall, 100% Group A, 92.4% Group B). Eight Group B eyes (6.7%) had treatment failure. No serious systemic side-effects were noted. Risk factors for failure included larger tumors (P = 0.001) and proximity to posterior pole (P = 0.014). Regression patterns were Type 4 (50.2%), Type 3 (31.7%), Type 1 (11.1%), and Type 2 (7%). Factors predictive of Type 4 regression were smaller tumors, anterior location, younger age; Type 3 regression was associated with larger tumors, macular location, and older age., Conclusions: Systemic chemoreduction and focal therapy provided effective tumor control in Indian children. Factors predictive of regression patterns included age, tumor size and its location, and the modality of treatment.

Retinoblastoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy of childhood. A potentially curable cancer, its treatment has improved significantly over the last few decades. The purpose of this article is to review the literature on various conservative treatment modalities available for the treatment of retinoblastoma and their effectiveness, when used alone or in combination. Pubmed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched through 2012 for published peer reviewed data on conservative treatment modalities for retinoblastoma. Various studies show that while enucleation remains the standard of care for advanced intraocular tumors, conservative modalities that can result in globe salvage and preservation of useful vision are being increasingly employed. Such modalities include systemic chemotherapy, focal consolidation with transpupillary thermotherapy, laser photocoagulation and cryotherapy, plaque brachytherapy, and delivery of local chemotherapy using subconjunctival, sub-tenon, or intra-arterial routes. When used alone or in combination, these treatment modalities can help in avoidance of external beam radiotherapy or enucleation, thus reducing the potential for long-term side effects, while salvaging useful vision. Radioactive plaque brachytherapy has an established role in selected patients with intraocular retinoblastoma. Local injections of chemotherapeutic agents via the sub-tenon or sub-conjunctival route have been used with varying degrees of success, usually as an adjunct to systemic chemotherapy. Intra-arterial ophthalmic artery delivery of melphalan has shown promising results. It is important to recognize that today, several treatment options are available that can obviate the need for enucleation, and cure the cancer with preservation of functional vision. A thorough knowledge and understanding of these conservative treatment modalities is essential for appropriate management.