By Goh Jiah Ying, IECRC
The AOCMF is an international foundation that organises courses with the aim of educating surgeons from different fields around the globe on fracture treatment and surgery. This year, Dr Joy Chan, Medical Director and Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist from International Eye Cataract Retina Centre, was invited by the organising committee to be on its teaching faculty. She gave a lecture on “Challenges and Controversies in the Management of Post Traumatic Diplopia” during an AOCMF Course in Singapore on 18 August 2017.
Diplopia, or double vision, is a very distressing symptom. It has a profound effect on the quality of patient’s life because it limits one’s ability to carry out daily activities such as driving, walking up and down the stairs, returning to work and function socially. It is also an extremely common symptom following significant trauma to the face and eye. In addition, it also often accompanies facial and orbital fractures.
Dr Chan commenced her talk by covering various causes of post-traumatic diplopia, highlighting emergencies such as retrobulbar haemorrhage and trapdoor fractures. The emergency treatment for these conditions were discussed, where she also emphasised on the importance of treating them as soon as possible to avoid permanent damage to the optic nerve and extraocular muscles. This can lead to blindness and permanently affect one’s ability to move his eyes.
Dr Chan also shared several cases of severe trauma and diplopia that she had managed over the years, discussing the various challenges she encountered as well as the controversies of current treatment. She has treated a significant number of such cases over the years while working with a variety of specialists, ranging from oral and maxillo-facial surgeons, plastic surgeons, and ear, nose and throat surgeons.
The course organised this year was well-attended by practicing surgeons from Singapore and the region. There was also a good mix of local, regional and international faculty. The course provided an excellent platform for an enriching exchange of ideas between surgeons of different disciplines from all over the world.
