To determine the trend in frequency and clinical indications of surgical removal of eyes in a tertiary eye centre in Calabar, Nigeria. This is a 10-year retrospective review of patients who underwent surgical removal of eyes in a tertiary centre. The clinical records were reviewed (between Jan 2001 and Dec 2010) for demographic data, type of surgery, and clinical indications. A total of 137 eyes were surgically removed within the study period. Of these 46 were children (<16 years). There were 85 males and 52 females giving a M:F ratio of 1.6:1. Clinical indications for surgical eye removal include infective causes (32.1 %; perforated corneal ulcers, endophthalmitis, panophthalmitis), trauma (21.2 %), tumours (21.2 %), anterior staphyloma (13.1 %), and painful blind eyes (9.5 %). Phthisis bulbi, expulsive haemorrhage and aphakic bullous keratopathy accounted for the remaining 2.8 %. The eyes were removed by evisceration (63.5 %), enucleation (29.9 %) and modified exenteration (6.6 %). The commonest indication for eye removal in children was tumour (retinoblastoma). Eye removal in southern Nigeria is often due to infective causes (panophthalmitis and endophthalmitis), perforated corneal ulcer, mechanical trauma (blunt or open globe injury from gunshots or direct trauma), chemical burns, tumours, persistently painful blind eye and anterior staphyloma. Other indications for eye removal were phthisis bulbi, expulsive haemorrhage and aphakic bullous keratopathy.

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Aim: To find out the short-term outcome of ciliary ablation with diode laser contact cyclophotocoagulation in Nigerians with neovascular glaucoma. Methods: The study is a retrospective, non-comparative, interventional case series. Demographic data, ocular and systemic history were obtained. Clinical examination included visual acuity, intraocular pressure, number of intraocular pressure-lowering medications and type of treatment administered at the time of NVG diagnosis. Treatment with diode laser cyclophotocoagulation was instituted. Short-term outcomes were observed and patients were followed-up for three months. Results:The study included 3 eyes of 3 patients; all above 40 years, 1 female and 2 male. At the time of NVG diagnosis, all three patients presented with severe ocular pain, and had VA between PL and NPL. Intraocular pressure on the average was 33mmHg at presentation, and associated with corneal oedema. At 3 months after initial diode laser photocoagulation (DLPC), the VA remained the same in all patients. No patient required repeat treatment. Pain reduction and lowering of the intraocular pressure were achieved at 3 months followup post-DLPC without anti-glaucoma medication. Conjunctival burns and chemosis were seen. All three eyes had corneal oedema and spontaneous hyphema by the 7 day; with subsequent severe corneal blood stain.th Conclusions: Diode laser photocoagulation can be used as an acceptable non-invasive surgical intervention for the reduction of pain and lowering of intraocular pressure in Nigerians with neovascular glaucoma. Most shortterm complications are uneventful. The presence of hyphema with corneal oedema may enhance the occurrence of corneal blood stain in black people. The presence of corneal oedema may thus be a risk factor for corneal blood staining.

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive tool of community diagnosis for onchocercal endemicity needs to be identified and ascertained for their utility and effectivity in order to facilitate the control of onchocerciacis in sub-Saharan Africa OBJECTIVE: To determine the utility and effectiveness of the Wu-Jones Motion Sensitivity Screening Test (MSST) in detecting optic nerve diseases in onchocercal-endemic rural Africa. METHODS: MSST was applied to sampled subjects in the selected communities of Raja in Sudan; Bushenyi in Uganda; Morogoro in Tanzania; and of Ikom, Olamaboro and Gashaka in Nigeria. Basically, six points within the central field of vision were repeatedly tested at 1/3 meter from the screen of a laptop computer in a room darkened. Motion sensitivity was expressed as a percentage of motion detected in the individual eye and this was averaged for the community.RESULTS: A total of 3,858 eyes of 2,072 patients were examined. Seventy-six percent of the subjects completed the test, at an average test time of 120.4 (66.7) seconds. The overall mean motion sensitivity of all eyes tested was 88.49 (17.49%). At a cut-off point of 50%, 6.4% of all subjects tested were subnormal, while at 70% cutoff, 13.3% were subnormal. The highest proportion of 50% cutoff sub-normality was recorded at Morogoro at 12.7%. CONCLUSION: Motion Sensitivity Screening Test was widely accepted and easily administered to the rural and largely illiterate subjects studied. Our data suggest that the proportion of severe field defects by MSST in a community, with cutoff at 33%, best correlates with optic nerve disease prevalence, while proportion of defect from a higher cut-off level at about 50%, best correlates with overall ocular morbidity. WAJM 2010; 29(6): 412-416.

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