Archives of the Ophthalmological Society of Northern Greece

Archives of the Ophthalmological Society of Northern Greece

BOOK REVIEWS statement that the Hughes' technique is one of the best means at our disposal for partial or total lid reconstruction. The book is well w...

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BOOK REVIEWS statement that the Hughes' technique is one of the best means at our disposal for partial or total lid reconstruction. The book is well written and it will appeal to the practicing ophthalmologist who is in­ terested in plastic surgery and in operations that can be used in everyday practice. The drawings emphasize clarity and simplicity rather than fine art work. Irving Puntenney. T H E ANTISEPTIC, April, 1954.

The golden jubilee number of The Anti­ septic, its April, 1954, issue, is an impressive volume of over 700 pages which contains a series of summaries of the achievements of the last 50 years in each of the special fields of medical interest, among them ophthal­ mology, and also many original essays by contributors from many lands. There are four ophthalmic articles on immunologic therapy, on vitamin-A deficiency, on retinal detachment, and on the plastic lens in cataract surgery. F. H. Haessler. TUBERCULOSES OCULAIRES ET TUBERCULOSES

PARAGANGLIONNAIRES.

By L.

Paufique

and J. Brun. Paris, Masson et Cie., 1953. 186 pages, 43 illustrations. Price: 1,350 francs. This monograph is the product of the close collaboration of Paufique, ophthalmologist, and Brun, phthisiologist, both associate pro­ fessors at the Lydon Medical School. The limitations of clinical and laboratory exami­ nations are thoroughly discussed. Up to the age of six years, a positive von Pirquet test is practically diagnostic. The excellent chap­ ter on differential diagnosis fails, however, to mention toxoplasmosis. In the 15 pages devoted to therapy the authors stress that streptomycin is still the most important chemotherapeutic agent. Tuberculin is administered on a tentative basis and abandoned if no amelioration is

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evident after a dozen injections. But if favorable results follow, they advise three series of 16 injections the first year, two such series the second year, and then one series annually for the next three years. Large doses of vitamin D are considered valuable adjuvant treatment in tuberculous iritis of middle age and in tuberculous periphlebitis. The term "paraganglionnaires" is a neolo­ gism, introduced to emphasize the inter­ dependence of certain types of ocular tuber­ culosis with tuberculous adenopathy, and this concept is elaborated in 82 pages. The tuber­ culous adenopathy is neutralized by X-ray treatments, which indirectly act on the tubercle bacilli by the tissue reaction pro­ voked. For peripheral adenopathy, as in the cervical glands, 150 kv. is advised with a filter of 0.5-mm. copper; for mediastinal adenop­ athy the same filtration is used with 180 kv. A series of five treatments of 25 r to 100 r is given at weekly intervals and after a month the series is repeated. The tuberculin reaction in the skin does not necessarily reflect the allergy of the eye. The tubercle bacillus undergoes profound changes in the lymph glands which in turn become the pivot of the phenomena of allergy and immunity. James E. Lebensohn.

ARCHIVES OF T H E OPHTHALMOLOGICAL SO­

Thessaloniki, Greece, 1952. This is the first volume of the newly formed Ophthalmological Society in North­ ern Greece, and it is a welcome contribution to the Greek ophthalmic literature. It contains 26 reports and presentations of cases. Zervakakos reports a case of oculogyric crises in a 35-year-old man and emphasizes its diagnostic significance in Parkinsonism. The patient apparently suffered from a hyperkinetic form of encephalitis three years previously. Karagounidis recommends the early use of aureomycin in herpetic keratitis. He had a CIETY OF NORTHERN GREECE.

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BOOK REVIEWS

favorable response in five cases from local and systemic application of aureomycin. However, he noticed no improvement in disciform herpetic keratitis. Polychronakos reports an interesting case of recurrent unilateral exophthalmos in a four-year-old child due to spontaneous orbi­ tal hemorrhage. The laboratory studies and physical examination were negative and no signs of scurvy were present. Full recovery was accomplished without any specific treat­ ment. The author believes rupture of a cirsoid orbital aneurysm is a possible cause. Georgiades reports in detail the case of an intermittent unilateral exophthalmos in a seven-year-old child due probably to a con­ genital vascular anomaly of the orbit. Konstas reviewed the bibliography and re­ ports three cases of cataracta centralis pulverulenta. Pedigree of the family indicates a dominant type of heredity. Georgiades reports a case of Duane's re­ traction syndrome in a 19-year-old girl and a case of oxycephaly associated with second­ ary optic atrophy. Raptis treated successfully a case of postherpetic disciform keratitis with local and subconjunctival injection of cortisone. Konstas presents a posttraumatic ischemia of the retina simulating occlusion of the cen­ tral retinal artery in a young girl. He thinks that hematoma into the sheath of the optic nerve was the cause of the retinal ischemia due to compression of the central retinal artery. Raptis was able to arrest the progression of two cases of Mouren's corneal ulcer with cautery; he also treated a case of Eales' dis­ ease with irradiation of the spleen which showed no recurrence for a year. Polychronakos reports a case of recurrent orbital edema probably of allergic etiology in an enucleated eye. Konstas presents four cases of Duane's

retraction syndrome and also an interesting case of oxycephaly associated with facial hemiatrophy, bilateral ptosis, bilateral sixth nerve paresis, coloboma of the choroid, and persistent hyaloid artery. Polychronakos discusses in detail the free grafting in correcting cicatricial ectropion and presents 10 cases successfully treated by this method, employing Padgett's dermatome. Georgiades reports a rare case of subretinal cysticercus which was followed by him for 16 months. The first symptom was sud­ den loss of vision due to a retrobulbar neu­ ritis, followed by discoid retinal hemorrhage. A month later the parasite was visible in the fupdus. No attempt was made to remove the parasite and the eye was lost. The same author presents a case of primary epithelioma of the orbit completely removed and postirradiated with no recurrence for three years. Konstas recommends tarsectomy, partial or total, in cases of trichiasis, but also as a pre­ ventive operation in the serious complications of trachoma III and IV. Only in the latter stages is tarsectomy indicated. Polychronakos reports a case of unilateral exophthalmos associated with ptosis due to a cirsoid aneurysm of the superior ophthalmic vein. Excision after ligation of the vein de­ creased the exophthalmos. The same author presents a case of primary tuberculosis of the tarsal conjunctiva of the upper lid which sub­ sided completely three months later after the application of streptomycin systemically and Rimifon and PAS ointment locally. Georgiades, Petridis, and Kalaitjis also re­ port another rare case of secondary tubercu­ losis of the tarsal and bulbar conjunctiva con­ sisting of a small yellowish nodule. The pa­ tient had a recurrent tuberculous kerato-iritis for five years of the same eye. A brief summary in French follows at the end of the book. Manos A. Petrohelos.