News

Findings from the Swedish National Cataract Register tracking the incidence of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery in Sweden showed a low incidence of this complication with only 108 endophthalmitis cases after 225,000 procedures performed during 2002 and 2004, according to Mats Lundstrom, MD.

Early curvature changes on the corneal surface that are measured by topography need to be heeded in patients undergoing refractive surgery, according to Steven Klyce, PhD.

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.

The Synchrony dual-optic single-piece IOL (Visiogen) performed well in a small initial study of this lens. The visual results were good; there were no major complications; no glare and halos after implantation; and patient satisfaction was high, according to George Beiko, MD, FRCS, who reported his experience at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Cataract surgery and refractive surgery are merging into one discipline. This convergence reflects a bridging of the skill sets and the mindsets from refractive surgery pioneered by Jose Barraquer, MD, to the technology of the cataract and IOL surgery proposed by Charles Kelman, MD, explained Stephen Lane, MD, during the 29th Binkhorst Lecture at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery's opening general session.

The opening general session Saturday morning officially kicked off the 32nd annual American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) symposium with a glance at ophthalmology's past and a commitment to build a bridge to the profession's future.

Placement of a single intrastromal corneal implant (Intacs, Addition Technology) appears to offer better results than double-segment placement when treating keratoconus in eyes with paracentral/peripheral cones, said Colin C. Chan, MD.

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.

Refractive surgeons can look forward to a number of accommodating IOL options for their patients in the future, explained Steven Dell, MD, who spoke at the Hot Topics Symposium during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Adjunctive use of mitomycin-C (MMC) 0.02% during pterygium surgery results in statistically significant endothelial cell loss, reported Rahamin Avisar, MD.

Epi-LASIK with the EpiVision System (CooperVision Surgical) is a definite advance in surface ablation techniques for refractive surgeons, according to surgeons experienced with the device.

Carl Zeiss Meditec introduces several product developments at this year's meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) announced it will pledge $1 million to support independent research/programming in refractive lenticular science sponsored by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation. I. Howard Fine, MD, ASCRS foundation chairman, announced the AMO grant during the opening general session Saturday morning.

From the late 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century, there has been increasing interest in different kinds of refractive procedures, Jos? Guell, MD, PhD. One option that has been receiving more and more attention is phakic IOLs. He highlighted some of the factors for this during Cornea Day 2006 at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

yePAC held its annual benefit event at Gump's department store Friday evening prior to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) welcome reception at SBC Park.

They're annual rites of spring: the joint meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) and a new season of Major League Baseball. On Friday evening, March 17, the events converged as several thousand ASCRS/ASOA delegates attended a welcome reception at SBC Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.

Now is the time for practitioners to begin to do their homework on electronic medical records (EMRs) systems. The federal government has a significant mandate with a large budget to standardize and implement their use in clinical practice, said Richard A. Lewis, MD, at Glaucoma Day at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

Cataract surgery in eyes with angle-closure glaucoma can present the need for small pupil management techniques, said Murray Johnstone, MD. Dr. Johnstone reviewed several pearls for handling these challenging cases at Glaucoma Day at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

Ophthalmologists should always strive to position their discussions with glaucoma patients in a positive zone, said Reay Brown, MD, at Glaucoma Day at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) meeting.

Significant progress has been made in the ability to predict progression from ocular hypertension to glaucoma, but the same cannot be said for predicting whether patients with detectable disease will progress to severe visual impairment or blindness, said Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH, at Glaucoma Day at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

Advanced surface ablation, such as LASEK and Epi-LASIK, defined as an refractive laser technique that does not create a lamellar flap, is the wave of the future, according to Richard Yee, MD. He said that advanced surface ablations are ideal procedures for problem cases, such as those with thin corneas and high myopia and is even better for routine cases. He spoke during Cornea Day 2006 at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

From the late 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century, there has been increasing interest in different kinds of refractive procedures, Jos? Guell, MD, PhD. One option that has been receiving more and more attention is phakic IOLs. He highlighted some of the factors for this during Cornea Day 2006 at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

The debate over which type of refractive procedure will prevail continues, and according to George Waring III, MD, FACS, FRCOphth, the future belongs to lamellar surgery.

Knowledge about the risks factors for corneal ectasia is increasing and some of the risk factors may be very subtle. R. Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD, described how he uncovered some of these factors during Cornea Day 2006 at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

Welcome to Ophthalmology Times E-News, which will provide daily coverage of the 2006 American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) joint annual symposium and congress in San Francisco, March 17 to 22. Over the next several days, you will receive meeting coverage of the top clinical presentations, breaking industry news, latest new products, and other ophthalmic information.

Four representatives of government and academia weighed in on the pay-for-performance (P4P) issue during the government relations general session of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) symposium.

Madison, WI?Investigators expanded the eligibility criteria of the SCORE study, a multicenter, randomized clinical trial designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of standard care versus intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) injections for the treatment of macular edema associated with central and branch retinal vein occlusion. The broader standards will accommodate a patient population more closely matched to those seen in the practice setting.

Minneapolis?The potential for better flaps, improved outcomes, and happier patients are the factors that motivated the surgeons at Minnesota Eye Consultants to join the ranks of others who are performing all-laser LASIK using the femtosecond laser microkeratome (IntraLase) for flap creation, said Richard L. Lindstrom, MD.