SLITLAMP PHOTOGRAPHY I:

A SLITLAMP IS A HIGH INTENSITY LIGHT SOURCE CONCENTRATED INTO A NARROW

BEAM (OR SLIT) OF LIGHT USED IN CONCERT WITH A MICROSCOPE TO EXAMINE
THE ANTERIOR SEGMENT ( FRONT) OF THE EYE. INCORPORATE AN IMAGE

CAPTURING DEVICE AND NOW YOU HAVE A SLITLAMP CAMERA.
HERE IS ONE OF MY FIRST SLITLAMP PHOTOS.

THIS PATIENT WAS REFERRED TO PHOTOGRAPHY TO GET IMAGES OF HIS pterygium.
HOWEVER, HE COULD ACTUALLY BE SUFFERING FROM A CORNEAL INTRAEPITHELIAL NEOPLASM

SRNVM REDUX: RETURN OF THE PANDA
THIS IS A FOLLOW-UP ANGIOGRAM OF ONE OF MY EARLIER PATIENTS. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH A SUBRETINAL NEOVASCULAR MEMBRANE THERE IS LITTLE CHANCE OF IMPROVING THE CONDITION. IN A CASE SUCH AS THIS, A RETINAL MD'S AIM IS TO PREVENT ANY PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASE.

AFTER TAKING THIS PICTURE, I TOLD THIS PATIENT THAT I THOUGHT HER CONDITION RESEMBLED A PANDA BEAR. INITIALLY, SHE SEEMED A BIT "PUT-OFF" BY MY COMMENT; BUT AFTER OUR SESSION, SHE WANTED A COPY OF THE ANGIOGRAM TO SHOW FAMILY AND FRIENDS. SHE IS really WONDERFUL TO WORK WITH.

SCANS - II
O P T I C A L . C O H E R E N C E . T O M O G R A P H Y
PROVIDES ANOTHER WAY OF "LOOKING" AT THE RETINA. THE STRATUS OCT SENDS BEAMS OF LIGHT INTO OUR PATIENTS' EYES AND THEN READS THE REFLECTIONS SENT BACK FROM THE DIFFERENT LAYERS OF THE RETINA. IT THEN INTERPRETS THOSE REFLECTIONS AND CREATES A VIRTUAL CROSS-SECTION OF THE RETINA. BELOW ARE TWO SCANS OF THE SAME EYE. THE FIRST IS A HORIZONTAL SCAN OF THE MACULA AND THE SECOND IS A VERTICAL SCAN. BOTH SCANS SHOW A 'PUCKERING' OF THE MACULA DUE TO CELLOPHANE RETINOPAHTY. WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO TELL THE TRUE EXTENT OF THIS CONDITION WITH A TYPICAL FUNDUS PHOTO.

HORTIZONAL

VERTICAL

WE TYPICALLY PERFORM SCANS OF EITHER THE MACULA OR THE NERVE FIBER LAYER AROUND THE OPTIC DISC. I HOPE TO SHOW OTHER PATHOLOGIES I AM SEEING WITH THE OCT SCANS IN FUTURE POSTS.

A. I. O. N.
ANTERIOR ISCHEMIC OPTIC NEUROPATHY
IS A CONDITION CAUSED BY THE INFARCTION OF BLOOD VESSELS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE SUPPLY THE ANTERIOR (OR FRONT) OF THE OPTIC NERVE. PATIENTS WITH AION WILL (INEVITABLY) PRESENT WITH A PALE, SWOLLEN OPTIC DISC AS WELL AS ASSOCIATED HEMORRAGING WHICH CAN BE NOTED IN THE COLOR FUNDUS PHOTO BELOW.

THE ANGIOGRAPHY ABOVE SHOWS THE VENOUS STAGE OCCURRING QUITE LATE IN THE ANGIOGRAM (ALMOST A MINUTE), WHICH IS TYPICAL IN AION PATIENTS AS THEIR CIRCULATION IS SUB-STANDARD.