News

Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) is associated with favorable anatomic and functional outcomes that make it an interesting alternative to penetrating keratoplasty (PK) for the surgical treatment of keratoconus, said Pierre Fournie, MD, at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

Contrast sensitivity has been neglected as an important aspect of visual function and should be measured routinely, said William Jory, MD, at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting. Because of the nature of excimer laser treatment, which affects the central cornea, contrast sensitivity may be impaired in these patients.

A new anterior chamber optical coherence tomography (OCT) device (Visante, Carl Zeiss Meditec) is expected to play a major role in enabling safer refractive surgery, said Georges Baikoff, MD, at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

Because complaints about night vision are common after LASIK, there is a need to develop methods to accurately and reproducibly measure patient complaints, said Pedro Faria, MD, at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

Welcome to Ophthalmology Times E-News, which will provide daily coverage of the 2004 European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) meeting in Paris, Sept. 18 to 22.

San Diego-A new ultrathin IOL available in extremely high refractive powers offers distinct advantages over traditional thicker lenses or piggyback lenses for correction of hyperopia in patients with microphthalmos, according to Jochen Kammann, MD.

San Diego-The NewLife phakic presbyopic IOL (IOLTech) provides good distance and near vision, but patients who are candidates for implantation must be chosen carefully to obtain the best results, according to Laurent Gauthier, MD.

With the rise of new software and laser technology, the refractive community is better equipped to treat both new and returning patients.

The cannula provides excellent suction, allowing control of the lens even when it is applied to the very distant end of the small haptics.

London-PRK is a predictable, stable refractive procedure when large ablation zones (6 mm) are utilized, according to refractive surgeon Madhavan S. Rajan, MRCOpth, FRCS, who reported on a 12-year pro-spective study.

For the past 25 years, the medical management of glaucoma has become increasingly successful. The medications currently available have superior tolerability and efficacy compared with the most commonly used drugs 20 years ago.

With the use of antifibrosis drugs, particularly 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C, success rates increase dramatically. Reported success rates in the literature range from 51% to 90%.

Because excess ocular pressure (EOP) takes into consideration the aggregate corneal biomechanical characteristics, it provides a more relevant glaucoma screening parameter than does IOP alone.

San Diego-The AcrySof Natural Lens (Alcon Laboratories Inc.) has a blue-light-absorbing material in its design, which seems to provide better contrast for patients compared with conventional IOLs that have conventional ultraviolet-blocking materials.

San Diego-The Infiniti Vision Phacoemulsification System (Alcon Laboratories Inc.) can safely and effectively perform microincision cataract surgery. The results using a 1.5-mm incision or less from the first 50 cataract cases performed with the system showed that the technique uses significantly less power in the eye than a conventional phacoemulsification technique, according to Jorge L. Alio, MD, from VISSUM Instituto Oftalmologico de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernandez, Alicante, Spain.

San Diego-First trial results with the Synchrony dual-optic accommodative IOL (Visiogen Inc.) indicate that this first-generation lens is safe and performs well. However, lens power calculations should improve via more IOL implantation and calculation adjustment, according to Gerd Auffarth, MD.

Cataract surgeons in the United States now have at their disposal an exceptionally useful and beneficial device, the capsular tension ring (CTR), available from two different sources (Morcher Capsular Tension Ring, FCI Ophthalmics; StabilEyes, Advanced Medical Optics Inc.). A simple ring of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) with an eyelet at either end, the ring may be inserted into the capsular bag to enhance stability and centration. I have had the opportunity to employ this device and would like to share my current view of its proper use, benefits, and risks.

Cataract surgeons in the United States now have at their disposal an exceptionally useful and beneficial device, the capsular tension ring (CTR), available from two different sources (Morcher Capsular Tension Ring, FCI Ophthalmics; StabilEyes, Advanced Medical Optics Inc.). A simple ring of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) with an eyelet at either end, the ring may be inserted into the capsular bag to enhance stability and centration. I have had the opportunity to employ this device and would like to share my current view of its proper use, benefits, and risks.

Acme Oyster House

Contact lens use, as we know it today, began in the late 1940s with the introduction of the corneal contact lens, although sclero-corneal contact lenses were first used in the late 1880s. Even though use of contact lenses is approximately 120 years old, the basic concepts and the physiological optical principles leading to the clinical development of the contact lens date back to the 15th century.

Howard R. Krauss, MD, shared these "10 Golden Rules for differentiating optic neuritis from optic nerve sheath meningioma."

Los Angeles-Chronic progressive optic neuritis or optic nerve sheath meningioma? Until fairly recently, differentiating these two clinical entities would not have affected the clinical outcome because of the lack of an established safe, efficacious treatment for either condition. However, things have changed, said Howard R. Krauss, MD.

George A. (Jack) Cioffi, MD, is board-certified in ophthalmology. He earned his medical degree from the University of South Carolina and completed his residency in ophthalmology at the University of Maryland and fellowship inresearch and clinical glaucomaat Devers Eye Institute.

Irvine, CA-Allergan Inc. said it has filed a lawsuit against Alcon Laboratories Inc. claiming that the Fort Worth, TX company infringed upon Allergan's patents for brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution 0.15% to manufacture a generic alternative to its Alphagan P drops.

New York-Members of the FDA's advisory committee reviewing pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen) for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration say they are "impressed" with the drug but declined to take a formal vote.

This [demographic] shift will have a disproportionate impact on the specialty of ophthalmology.

San Diego-An implantable miniature telescope in the capsular bag provides a permanent visual prosthetic device for patients who are legally blind from bilateral age-related macular degeneration (AMD). While there is a learning curve, an early assessment of the implantation indicates that anterior segment surgeons are familiar with the standard phacoemulsification and manual extracapsular surgical skills used for this procedure, according to David F. Chang, MD.

Multifocal ablations have been gaining ground for the correction of presbyopia in the past year. Here at the University of Ottawa we have been studying this approach with the VISX STAR S4 excimer laser, with promising results as many patients are able to achieve excellent near and distance acuity.