Clinical Diagnosis

Cardiovascular medicine has provided a road map that ophthalmology can follow in risk assessment.

When I was a boy, my father mentioned several times how he might have purchased IBM stock decades earlier, and how much such an investment would have been worth at the time. Often, people tell me how they refrained from purchasing a waterfront home because the price seemed way too steep, only to have the value subsequently shoot up 10-fold. Perhaps we all regret not making certain purchases long ago.

Cardiovascular medicine has provided a road map that ophthalmology can follow in risk assessment.

Fairfax, VA—The FDA is asking cataract surgeons to report any incidents of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) that they have experienced on the agency's MedWatch Web site.

San Francisco—A drug commonly prescribed for older men suffering from prostate enlargement seems to cause a "floppy iris" that increases the risk of complications during cataract surgery.

Coronado Island, CA-The focus of attention in caring for babies with incontinentia pigmenti (IP) should be on the potential for rapid development of irreversible blindness rather than on the clinically obvious skin manifestations, said Morton F. Goldberg, MD, in the Gertrude D. Pyron Award Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists.

Heidelberg Engineering has received FDA clearance for its Rostock Cornea Module, a key component of its confocal laser microscope.

New York-Aqueous misdirection is "a rare, but serious complication of intraocular surgery" that requires immediate attention to prevent lasting damage, Celso Tello, MD, told participants at the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here.

The nomenclature and etiology of "dermoid" tumors and fatty lesions of the orbit and ocular adnexa have created longstanding confusion.

New York -Five potential causes of failure of glaucoma filtration surgery include excessive subconjunctival fibrosis, tight scleral flap sutures, encapsulated bleb, occluded internal ostium, and intraocular obstruction, according to James C. Tsai, MD.

New York-"The time to think about preventing a shallow anterior chamber is the moment you decide to perform a trabeculectomy," said Jody R. Piltz-Seymour, MD, at the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here.

New York-The best time to start treating a bleb-associated infection resulting from trabeculectomy is when its first warning signs appear, reported Paul J. Lama, MD, at the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here.

New York-Hypotony maculopathy-damage to the macula caused by clinically significant low IOP-has several causes, including overfiltering blebs, bleb leak, cyclodialysis cleft, and ciliary body effusion/detachment, reported Celso Tello, MD, at the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here.

New York-How do you determine whether a patient identified as having suspected glaucoma has glaucoma or will develop glaucoma? When should you treat a patient? How aggressive should treatment be?

New York-The 2004 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research, given posthumously, honors Charles D. Kelman, MD, for transforming cataract surgery "from a risky and lengthy ordeal (2-week hospital stay) into a safe and quick outpatient procedure that has spared millions of people throughout the world from blindness," as well as for inspiring similar advances in a number of other medical specialties.

New York-The 2004 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research, given posthumously, honors Charles D. Kelman, MD, for transforming cataract surgery "from a risky and lengthy ordeal (2-week hospital stay) into a safe and quick outpatient procedure that has spared millions of people throughout the world from blindness," as well as for inspiring similar advances in a number of other medical specialties.

New York-It is not usual for a memorial ceremony to be punctuated by roars of laughter, but the commemoration held here on Sept. 13 for Charles D. Kelman, MD, was as unusual as the man himself. The tribute was as full of the liveliness, enthusiasm, and love that he expressed for everything in his life-from saxophone playing to song composing to helicopter piloting and to his medical and scientific studying that revolutionized ophthalmology.

Nidek Co., Gamagori, Japan, has introduced the NIDEK RKT-7700-an all-in-one auto-refractometer, keratometer, and tonometer unit-at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting in Paris. The new unit brings together advanced and innovative technologies and solutions into one diagnostic platform, offering the first combination unit of its type in the industry, the company reported.

Surgeon outlines potential remedies such as medical therapy, tamponade, adhesives

Vancouver, British Columbia-A research chemist from QLT Inc. who helped develop the verteporfin for injection (Visudyne, QLT/Novartis Ophthalmics) treatment for age-related macular degeneration is among 13 chemists from four companies who have been named Heroes of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society.

New York-The ideal monitor of glaucoma progression should have high sensitivity, high specificity, be resistant to fluctuations of the condition, require few confirmatory tests, have broad sensitivity at all stages of the disease, and be easy to interpret, according to David S. Greenfield, MD, who spoke at the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here.

New York-Standard textbook descriptions about early detection of glaucoma underestimate the prevalence of glaucoma, said Robert N. Weinreb, MD.

Map allows clinician to watch early stages, monitor progression and regression

Clinicians need to recognize the fundamental characteristicsof the glaucomatous optic nerve in daily practice. While understanding cup-to-discratio is important, it is also important to recognize other structural characteristics.

When should intraocular lymphoma be considered, and when it is suspected what steps should be taken to make the diagnosis?