Worldwide, childhood blindness is 0.75/1000 children giving an estimated number of 1.4 million suffering from blindness worldwide. Of the blind children worldwide, congenital cataract is the major cause in African countries. The management of cataract in children poses a challenge to the African ophthalmologist, and the earlier in life cataract develops, the more difficult it is to manage. A description of the common causes, clinical presentation, methods of modern surgical removal, and suggested typical postoperative management of this condition is given along with common complications and challenges that may be encountered.

Aim: To determine the ocular problems of 1^st-year preclinical medical students at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Nnewi, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: All registered 1^st-year preclinical medical students were examined in October 2008. Ocular investigation included filling out self-administered questionnaire, visual acuity estimation, anterior segment examination, ophthalmoscopy, refraction, squint assessment, and measurement of accommodation amplitude. Results: One hundred and eight students including 80 (74.1%) males and 28 (25.9%) females (M: F = 3:1), age range was 16–30 years, median – 21 years, were examined. Fifty-two (48.2%) students had a positive family history of eye disease; 23 (21.3%) had symptoms of eye disease. Poor distance vision was the most common symptom; itching and poor near vision were uncommon. Of the 23 students with ocular symptoms, 18 (78.3%) had a positive family history of eye disease. Nine (8.3%) students had low vision. Ninety students (83.3%) had ocular problems, with 78 (63.0%) having ametropia (astigmatism, 72 [66.7%]; myopia, 5 [4.6%]; and hypermetropia, 1 [0.9%]), 2 (1.8%) latent strabismus, and 9 (8.3%) allergic conjunctivitis. One (0.9%) student had bilateral leukoma and dry eyes. The range of binocular amplitude of accommodation was 8.00–25.00 D with a median of 16.50 D. The mean accommodation amplitude was significantly higher than the population age norm (t– 5.739; P= 0.0003). Conclusions: Some fresh university students have ocular problems that could interfere with their academic work. Preregistration ocular examination is recommended to enable the detection and treatment of any ocular disease that may impede optimal academic pursuit.

Background: Advancing age is a recognized risk factor for blindness and visual impairment worldwide. More than 82% of all blind people are 50 years or older. This therefore places a huge public health and socioeconomic burden on the populace, often leading to social dependence. Aim: To determine the pattern, profile, and risk factors of eye diseases among retired public servants in Port Harcourt City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Participants were retired public servants who consented to ocular examinations at their pension pay points in Port Harcourt during the 2012 World Sight Day. Visual acuity, ocular examinations including fundoscopy and intraocular pressure measurements were recorded and subsequently analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Results: Five hundred and ninety-two persons were studied; 455 males and 137 females (F: M = 1:3.3). The Mean age was 68.7 ± 7.6 years (range: 56–97 years). Using World Health Organization/International Agency for Prevention of Blindness criteria for visual assessment 239 (40.4%) had good vision, 203 (34.3%) had moderate visual impairment, 48 (8.1%) had severe visual impairment, while 102 subjects (17.2%) were blind. Cataract was the leading cause of blindness 56 (54.9%), followed by glaucoma 18 (17.7%), uncorrected refractive error 19 (18.6%), and diabetic retinopathy 9 (8.8%).Conclusion: Visual impairment and blindness are common causes of ocular morbidity among retirees of public service in Port Harcourt. It is therefore advocated that special eye health care intervention by governments and nongovernmental agencies be extended to these groups of people.

Aim: To assess the difficulties encountered by students with congenital color vision defects in daily living and school activities. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among students of public secondary schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were administered to all consenting students to determine difficulties encountered in aspects of color matching and color recognition. Results: A total of 1635 students (male:female 1:1.1) were screened of whom 37 (2.3%) had congenital color vision defect. A statistically significant proportion (P < 0.0001) of them reported difficulties with color-related school work and day-to-day activities. Conclusion: Congenital color vision deficient students encounter some difficulty with school work and daily living activities, hence a need to identify them early and give appropriate career guidance.

Objective: To assess the output, pattern, and outcome of conjunctival surgeries in Jos University Teaching Hospital over a 7-year period. Methodology: The minor ophthalmic surgical records of the hospital were retrospectively reviewed to obtain information on patients who had conjunctival surgery. These included patients' demographics, diagnosis, indications and types of surgery, type of anesthesia, histology report, and outcome. The data were analyzed using Epi Info statistical software version 3.4, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Results: A total of 155 patients and 187 eyes were operated upon; 73 (47.1%) males and a mean age of 39.9 years (standard deviation: 15). Pterygium excision accounting for 104 (55.6%), excisional biopsy 58 (31.0%), and conjunctival flap in 14 eyes (7.5%) were the most common procedures. There was an increase in the proportion of patients who had pterygium surgery with increasing age (χ² = 19.6, P< 0.001). Pterygium excision also remained the most common conjunctival surgery over the 7-year period with an annual average of 55.1% (χ² = 8.4, P< 0.001). Most pterygium excision 91 (87.5%) were performed using the bare sclera technique with a 31.6% recurrence rate. The most common conjunctival neoplasia was squamous cell carcinoma 7 (58.3%) and squamous cell papilloma 3 (25%). Conclusion: Over half of conjunctival surgeries were pterygium excisions mostly performed using the bare sclera method with a significant recurrent rate; hence, the need for modifications which includes the use of antimetabolites and conjunctival autograft.

Objective: To determine the indications and pattern of surgical removal of the eyeball at a Tertiary Hospital in South Western Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Retrospective review of case files and theatre records of all patients who had evisceration, enucleation, or exenteration at the ophthalmic theatres of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife between July 2005 and June 2013 was done. Information on age, sex, indication for surgery, and the type of surgery was analyzed using SPSS 16 software. Results: Eighty eyes of 79 patients, age, ranged from 3 months to 88 years with a male: female ratio of 3.4:1 were surgically removed. The major indications for surgery were ocular trauma (43.8%), orbito-ocular neoplasm (22.5%), fulminant ocular infection (15%), and staphyloma (12.5%). Children accounted for 33.8% of all cases reviewed. Conclusion: Indications for eye removal in our geographical area of practice are largely preventable and similar to those reported in major Nigerian cities and other developing countries, but dissimilar to what obtains in many developed countries.

Cytomegalovirus(CMV) is a herpes virus that causes a wide spectrum of diseases. One of the most important clinical manifestations of CMV is retinitis which occurs often in immunocompromised patients and is a serious and sight-threatening condition. The diagnosis is made clinically based on ophthalmologic examination but in equivocal situations can be confirmed by aqueous or vitreous polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Here, we report one case of CMV retinitis in a pregnant woman without any obvious immunodeficiency that started with mononucleosis like syndrome at first and followed by retinal involvement. The disease was diagnosed by ophthalmologists and confirmed by aqueous PCR. The patient was treated with ganciclovir. Our opinion is that pregnancy and its mild cellular immunity can probably be considered as a cause of CMV retinitis in this patient.

We report iridoschisis in a female who presented at the age of 85 years with a ten year history of complaints of gradual and progressive deterioration in vision in both eyes (left eye worse than the right eye). The examination was notable for the presence of peripheral anterior synechiae inferiorly and few loose iris fibrils some of which were adherent to the corneal endothelium in both eyes while others floated within the aqueous humor. The anterior chamber was shallow and there was marked inferior/inferotemporal sectoral iris atrophy with splitting of the anterior layer of the iris. The pupils were slightly irregular in but reactive in both eyes and there were lenticular opacities in both eyes.

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is relatively rare with an incidence of 0.13–1.9/100,000 population. OSSN includes dysplastic lesions involving the squamous epithelium of the conjunctiva or cornea. Epibulbar squamous cell carcinoma and epithelioma have been noted commonly, but cases in which the tumor is primary on the cornea are sufficiently rare to warrant reporting in each instance. We describe a rare case of noninvasive OSSN involving the entire cornea in a human immunodeficiency virus-negative patient. The patient was successfully treated with no recurrence, after intact surgical removal, mitomycin C treatment, and cryotherapy.

Optic disc melanocytoma (ODM) is a rare, benign, deeply pigmented ocular tumor arising from melanocytes within the optic disc or from any part of the uvea. It occurs more in dark skinned individuals and females. We report a 17-year-old female who presented to our outpatient department with a history of poor distant vision from childhood, worse in the right eye. Ocular examination revealed visual acuity of 6/36 and 6/18 in the right and left eyes, respectively, which improved to 6/9 bilaterally with a pinhole. There was a relative afferent pupillary defect in the right eye, and a posterior segment examination of same eye showed a raised pigmented optic disc lesion occupying the inferior two-thirds of the optic disc and obscuring the lower disc margin. Both the anterior and posterior segments of the left eye were normal. A diagnosis of presumed ODM was made. Spectacles were prescribed, and the patient was counseled on regular follow-up to monitor progression. ODM should be considered in patients presenting with a pigmented optic disc lesion. Regular follow-up with fundus photography is advocated.