Promising results with implantable mini telescope for end-stage AMD

Take Home: A 5-year study of the implantable miniature telescope for bilateral, end-stage age-related macular degeneration found positive results with a few complications.

 

By Vanessa Caceres; Reviewed by David Boyer, MD

Beverly Hills, CA-Although a promising implantable miniature telescope can assist patients with bilateral, end-stage age-related macular degeneration, they should be aware that the telescope is not a cure-all for vision problems and requires low-vision rehabilitation, said David Boyer, MD.

The telescope, made by VisionCare (Saratoga, Calif.), was previously approved by the FDA for patients over age 75, but that approval then expanded in October 2014 to include patients 65 to 74. The technology provides 2.7 times magnification and uses natural eye movements. It is surgically implanted in the eye.

Dr. Boyer-Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group, Beverly Hills, CA-shared details on the 5-year multicenter trial of the implant, which included 217 patients with a mean age of 76 years. Patients had moderate to profound bilateral central visual acuity loss that was from untreatable geographic atrophy, disciform scars, or both.

There was also a subgroup analysis with patients divided by age: one group (group 1) had 70 patients age 65 to 74, and a second group (group 2) had 127 patients age 75 or older.

Investigators examined best-correct distance visual acuity, quality of life, ocular complications related to surgery, endothelial cell density, and adverse events.

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