Use of Optical Coherence Tomography in Pediatric Ophthalmology

Abstract

<TABLE WIDTH="445" BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" ALIGN="center"><TR> <TD><P><B>PANELISTS:</B> Carol Shields, MD; Arun Singh, MD; and Jerry Shields, MD<BR><B>MODERATOR:</B> Rudolph S. Wagner, MD, Editor</P></TD> </TR></TABLE> <h4>EXCERPT</h4> <p><b>Wagner</b>: This Eye to Eye is on the use of optical coherence tomography, which we will refer to as OCT throughout, in pediatric ophthalmology. Drs. Carol Shields, Arun Singh, and Jerry Shields are specialists in retinal and other types of ocular tumors.</p> <p>How has the use of OCT improved your diagnostic acumen regarding pediatric retinal disorders? Has it changed the way you practice? Has it added to your practice?</p> <p><b>C. Shields</b>: OCT has been available commercially for approximately 4 to 5 years, having been studied for 10 to 20 years prior to this. In our practice of ocular oncology, OCT is employed for most patients who have an intraocular tumor or an intraocular condition, regardless of whether they have good vision and whether we see a mass, because it provides high-resolution detail of the macula. If a child has slightly decreased vision and a normal-appearing fundus, would you rather perform fluorescein angiography or OCT on this child to better understand the details of the fovea? Children prefer OCT over invasive fluorescein angiography for looking at the cross-sectional anatomy of the fovea. Therefore, we image with OCT most of the patients we see with intraocular tumors.</p>