News

Restoration of accommodation and elimination of aberration arebecoming the standards by which we evaluate the results of cataract andrefractive surgery today.

Rochester, NY-On the same day Bausch & Lomb celebrated FDA approval of a larger treatment range for its Technolas 217A excimer laser system, it said it would delay a year before asking the FDA to approve its Retisert drug-delivery implant.

The Steinert II LASIK speculum (Rhein Medical) helps to increase ocular surface exposure for the positioning of a microkeratome, according to refractive and anterior segment surgeon Roger F. Steinert, MD, who was involved in its design.

Atlanta-CIBA Vision will purchase the posterior-chamber phakic refractive lens (PRL) from Medennium.

The creation of a mobile ophthalmologic aid service in Russia has enabled elderly and disabled patients access to desperately needed eye care.

Irvine, CA-Refractec Inc. has completed patient enrollment for its phase III clinical trial for conductive keratoplasty (CK) as a treatment for presbyopia.

Greensboro, NC-Nidek will introduce the MP-1 Micro Perimeter in the United States and globally following FDA approval of its combined perimetry and fundus imaging instrument.

Approximately 30 million people are afflicted with chronic sinusitis annually. Many can be successfully treated with antibiotics but for those who cannot, surgery is often recommended.

Baltimore-Treatment of people with ocular hypertension without a diagnosis of glau-coma has been poorly understood, but there is no doubt that the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) has brought the field a lot farther.

Baltimore-Recent studies have found that the effectiveness of surgical treatment for glaucoma varies by race.

Not long after topical timolol was introduced in 1978, it became one of the most widely prescribed glaucoma medications in the world. Although timolol is considered to be the most significant therapeutic advance in the medical treatment of glaucoma in the 20th century, the 1994 introduction of prostaglandin analogs for glaucoma treatment in Japan marked the end of timolol's domination.

When trauma or pathology necessitate removal of the eye, evisceration can be a successful solution and alternative to enucleation when applied in properly selected patients, said John W. Shore, MD.

Baltimore-Ophthalmologists can be comfortable identifying and managing certain eyelid lesions in their offices if they pay attention to a few basic principles. A working knowledge of common benign and malignant lesions is the key to managing these lesions, according to Shannath L. Merbs, MD, PhD, who spoke at the Current Concepts in Ophthalmology meeting here.

Iowa City, IA-Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a common ocular affliction, but because it is generally a late-onset disease, it is difficult to study molecularly, according to Wallace L.M. Alward, MD.

Omaha, NE-The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) clearly demonstrat-ed that topical IOP-lowering medications can delay the onset of primary open-angle glaucoma. In addition, the OHTS study also revealed two very important secondary messages, which may be as important as the primary finding, according to M. Roy Wilson, MD.

Jacksonville, FL-Wavefront technology is the tool of the future to determine the total optical system of the eye, according to Arun Gulani, MD.

Refractive surgery in the next few years will be dominated by the intellectually and, we hope, clinically exciting introduction of wavefront-guided surgery. Both from the viewpoint of improving our current results and for the treatment of the patient suffering adverse optical sequelae after LASIK, wavefront technology offers a novel and promising diagnostic and surgical approach. Indeed, refractive surgery today-borrowing from optics, astronomy, physics, engineering, and biology-represents the ultimate fusion of science, technology, and medicine.

Jacksonville, FL-Mastering the lamellar corneal surgery technique may extend the benefits to both physician and patient well beyond LASIK, according to Arun C. Gulani, MD. In the technically demanding surgery, a partial-thickness cornea is replaced with donor tissue of the same size and thickness.

Do you remember not long ago that a trip overseas meant virtually losing contact with home? Even a simple task such as making a phone call became an adventure- looking for the correct change with foreign coins, placing them in the appropriate slots, and then, of course, figuring out the time back home.

Editors Note: Birdshot chorioretinopathy (BSCR) is an uncommon, but potentially serious, inflammatory disorder that involves both the choroid and retina. No systemic associations have been observed consistently to date. While a strong association with the HLA-A29 class I antigen suggests a genetic predisposition, the vast majority of HLA-A29-positive patients never develop BSCR, and the trigger in that small proportion of HLA-A29-positive patients that does develop the disease is unknown.

Editor's Note: I developed myectomy surgery more than 25 years ago, and this procedure has been confirmed to be the best surgical treatment for blepharospasm. I have performed more than 1,000 myectomy procedures, and while functional results (reduction in spasm) have not changed greatly in the past few years, cosmetic results have improved greatly and negative side effects and healing time have been reduced.

Tokyo-A new instrument designed for prechopping reduces phacoemulsification time by 50% and is ideal for high-vacuum and laser phaco.

Alexandria, LA-With greater surgical expectations from both patient and physician, it is imperative for the cataract surgeon to spend more time discussing the refractive component prior to surgery, according to R. Bruce Wallace, MD.

Orlando-Early results from a clinical trial for the reversal and treatment of presbyopia, using SurgiLight Inc.'s OptiVision technology, appear "promising," according to researchers at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center.

This report provides a brief review of macroaneurysms, reviews two recently described applications of investigational tools that may assist in diagnosing a macroaneurysm when it is obscured by hemorrhage, reviews two approaches for the management of subhyaloid hemorrhage arising from a macroaneurysm, and discusses a rationale for the application of photocoagulation when treating selected macroaneurysms.

Zwolle, The Netherlands-Implantation of the AcrySof single-piece SA30/60 IOL (Alcon) using the Monarch II Injector is a promising procedure in which a single microincision as small as 2.75 mm is created.

Kansas City, MO-Making the transition from a standard phacoemulsification technique to a bimanual technique requires cataract surgeons learn to perform phaco through two micro-incisions and to develop their skills using an irrigating chopper.

Orlando-When considering computer office integration, physicians must consider what is essential versus what may be little more than a luxury to a smooth-running office. It may or may not be economically feasible to tie all aspects of a practice into a readily accessible communication network at this point.