Cases Referred By You! Diagnosis and Management of Retinal Conditions
On June 9th, 2021, Retina Consultants of Texas presented a virtual CE webinar on some of the most interesting cases that have been referred to our Houston practice over the last couple of years. Hosted by Dr. James Major, the webinar consisted of three sections presented by Dr. Eric Chen, Dr. Vy Nguyen, and Dr. Christopher Henry, with Dr. David Brown, Dr. Amy Schefler, and Dr. Tien Wong providing additional commentary and discussion.
Presentation #1: Dr. Eric Chen
Dr. Chen’s presentation entitled “Many Ways to Skin a Cat” focused on three unique cases of central serous retinopathy (CSR). Although retina specialists have standard protocols for treating conditions such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, vein occlusion, and uveitis, CSR doesn’t have the same type of standard protocols, which Dr. Chen explored through each case.
One of Dr. Chen’s presentations was a rare case of textbook CSR leakage. He gave an overview of the various options available in terms of when and how to treat CSR and then asked the panelists how they would approach this situation. The discussion of how and when to treat CSR was fascinating and included some debate about the efficacy of Eplerenone usage for CSR.
Presentation #2: Dr. Vy Nguyen
Dr. Nguyen focused on one case presentation about a 73-year-old woman with gradual painless loss of vision. Showing various images of the case, she asked the panelists to identify the issues that were present. She also asked what other tests should be obtained and what should a retina specialist expect to see in a normal scenario.
It ended up being a case of lymphocytic infiltration with giant cell arteritis (GCA) – a type of blood vessel inflammation that impacts the temporal artery. Dr. Nguyen pointed out that, in many cases, eye doctors are the first ones to catch GCA, making it crucial for ophthalmologists to pay attention to non-ocular symptoms in addition to vision-related symptoms when diagnosing conditions.
Presentation #3: Dr. Christopher Henry
Dr. Henry’s presentation entitled “Where Do I Begin” focused on a case of a 28-year-old female patient who presented with a very severe case of uveitis that included total retinal detachment in both eyes. Dr. Henry broke down the diagnostic processes he went through as well as the prescribed treatment. It was eventually determined that the patient had an extreme case of Vogt Koyanagi Harada syndrome, a rare disease that impacts several bodily systems and causes eye inflammation and vision loss.
While the patient was able to recover some of her vision, she was unable to fully return to her normal activities. She had only been referred to Dr. Henry’s care after experiencing symptoms for five weeks. If she had been diagnosed and treated sooner, the outcome would have likely been better, thus highlighting the importance of early referral.
Referring to Retina Consultants of Texas
As the leading retina-only ophthalmology practice in Texas, we work with thousands of referring physicians throughout Houston, San Antonio, and beyond. Learn more about how to refer a patient to our practice or fill out a patient referral form. We have a physician on call 24/7, including weekends and holidays.
We invite you to watch the full video of our “Cases Referred By You! Diagnosis and Management of Retinal Conditions” presentation on our YouTube channel. To attend Retina Consultants of Texas’s next CE Zoom event, please register here for updates.
