Cheryl Guttman

Las Vegas-Refractive lens exchange (RLE) is associated with an increased burden of informed consent disclosure because of the complex issues, both current and future, accompanying that procedure, said Douglas D. Koch, MD, at the Refractive Sur-gery Subspecialty Day during the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Richmond, CA-When implanting the B?r-veldt non-valved glaucoma tube shunt (Advanced Medical Optics), placement of a 1.2-mm longitudinal venting slit in a totally occluded tube appears to be a safe and effective modification for achieving an acceptable IOP and minimizing the risk of hypotony in the early postoperative period, said David Gilbert, MD, a glaucoma specialist in private practice with Kaiser Permanente here.

Las Vegas-A study evaluating IOP measurement performed with Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT), the digital handheld Tono-Pen XL applanation tonometer (Medtronic Ophthalmics), the Pascal Dynamic Contour Tonometer (PDCT, SMT Swiss Microtechnology AG), and the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA, Reichert Inc.) indicates that the results obtained with all of those devices may be affected by central corneal thickness (CCT). IOP measurements using the PDCT and ORA, however, appear to be influenced the least, reported Maged Nessim, MD, and coauthors here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Las Vegas-A new, validated glaucoma risk estimator developed using data from two large, prospective clinical trials provides a foundation for guiding a reasonable approach to the management of patients with ocular hypertension, said Mich?l A. Kass, MD, in his delivery of the 27th Robert N. Shaffer Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

West Palm Beach, FL-The BD K-4000 (Becton Dickinson Medical/Ophthalmic Systems) is a patient- and user-friendly microkeratome that consistently produces quality flaps with reproducible dimensions, said Jack Daubert, MD.

The regression equation: flap thickness = 0.26 (preop corneal thickness) – 0.19 (age) – 11.30 (blade type; 0 = new, 1 = used) + 0.76 (average K) – 22.05.

London-Results of a study evaluating a recently released microkeratome (Zyoptix XP, Bausch & Lomb) indicate it is a reliable instrument for predictable flap creation, reported Jay S. Pepose, MD, PhD, at the XXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Miami-Although post-LASIK diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) typically develops in the early postoperative period, it is important to be aware that late-onset DLK can occur, said William B. Trattler, MD.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates-A new treatment strategy consisting of oral doxycycline and topical sodium citrate 10% may have a positive role in the treatment of post-LASIK inflammatory conditions characterized by increased collagenolytic activities, said Elias F. Jarade, MD.

Minneapolis, MN-Early results are promising regarding the potential role of conductive keratoplasty (CK, Refractec) as an additional tool to improve vision outcomes in eyes with keratoconus or post-LASIK ectasia treated with corneal implants (Intacs, Addition Technology), said Jason K. Darlington, MD.

Marseille, France-Anterior chamber OCT (Visante, Carl Zeiss Meditec) is new and powerful technology with important applications in research and clinical practice, said Georges D. Baikoff, MD.

Los Angeles-Preliminary results from a prospective study of patients with the crystalens square edge (SE) accommodating IOL (eyeonics) implanted suggest modification of the original optic edge design has been effective for reducing the development of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and without causing an increase in visual quality-related complaints, according to D. Michael Colvard, MD.

Los Angeles-Wavefront-guided LASIK using the CustomCornea platform (Alcon Laboratories) yields superior outcomes compared with conventional LASIK when treating hyperopia and hyperopic astigmatism, said James J. Salz, MD.

Baltimore-Tunnel creation for placement of corneal implants (Intacs, Addition Technology) in eyes with corneal ectasia is a promising new use for the femtosecond laser (IntraLase FS, IntraLase), according to Alisa Kim, MD.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Significant differences in optic disc topography exist between ethnic groups, according to the results of a study analyzing parameters measured with confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (CSLO) among subjects with European, subcontinent Indian, and African-American ancestries.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Surgeons performing endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) to treat glaucoma should take careful note of probe position in order to optimize the treatment, said Malik Kahook, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

London, Ontario-During at least the first 12 months after treatment initiation, selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) and latanoprost 0.005% (Xalatan, Pfizer) are associated with equivalent efficacy and safety profiles when used as primary therapy for newly diagnosed open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, according to the results of a prospective, multicenter, parallel comparison, clinical trial conducted by researchers at Ivey Eye Institute, University of Western Ontario, London.

San Francisco-Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is a major advance in the management of glaucoma because it safely and effectively lowers IOP without damaging or disrupting the trabecular beams.

San Francisco-Ophthalmologists should always strive to emphasize the success of treatment when discussing glaucoma with their patients, said Reay H. Brown, MD, at glaucoma subspecialty day during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive annual meeting.

New Orleans-"Hot-off-the-press" results from the 2004 International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (ISRS/AAO) refractive surgery survey are being examined to determine what constitutes standard of care, said Richard J. Duffey, MD, at the opening day session of the refractive subspecialty day meeting.

Miami-Integrin antagonists may offer a potent alternative strategy for the treatment of sight-threatening eye diseases associated with angiogenesis, said Martin Friedlander, MD, PhD, at Angiogenesis 2004.

Lewiston, NY-The Magellan Mapper Corneal Topographer (Nidek) is a valuable new tool for the preoperative evaluation of refractive surgery patients, said Claus M. Fichte, MD.

Only a small proportion of patients were classified as having progression using both techniques.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-Intravenous squalamine lactate being developed by Geneara Corp. shows promise as a safe and effective treatment for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according toresults of a phase I/II trial presented by Charles A. Garcia, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

San Francisco-There are distinct forms of amblyopia characterized by varying patterns of visual deficits. Both blurred imagery and the loss of binocular function can cause amblyopia and determine the pattern of visual deficit, said Suzanne P. McKee, PhD, who reported on the results of an NEI-sponsored study analyzing a comprehensive set of visual function data collected in a large group of patients with amblyopia.

Jackson, MS-In eyes without capsular support, placement of a transscleral sutured, foldable IOL through a clear corneal incision is a reasonable option, said Hussein Wafapoor, MD.

When a decision is made to prescribe a topical beta-blocker for monotherapy or as an add-on agent, timolol hemihydrate (Betimol, Santen) offers many advantages that may make it an excellent option.

Baltimore-Patients prescribed latanoprost (Xalatan, Pfizer Ophthalmics) continue therapy significantly longer than their counterparts using other prostaglandin-type drugs, according to the results of a population-based, retrospective cohort study.

Mainz, Germany-Analysis of autoantibody repertoires using advanced pattern-matching algorithms, such as artificial neural networks, may be useful for diagnosis of glaucoma, said Franz H. Grus, MD, PhD. He is the group leader of the experimental ophthalmology unit ("Pathophysiology of the Eye"), department of ophthalmology, University of Mainz, Germany.

Charleston, WV-Findings of a bilateral comparison study evaluating prophylactic punctal occlusion in patients undergoing laser- vision correction surgery indicate soft plugs (Soft Plug-SA, Oasis Medical) may provide greater comfort and for a longer duration than standard collagen plugs.