Viscosurgical device combines the best of both worlds

Chicago-DisCoVisc (Alcon Laboratories) is appreciated by physicians who have had the opportunity to use it during cataract surgery because of its dispersive and cohesive properties, said panelists in a roundtable discussion held Monday at the Westin Hotel in Chicago.

The participants in the roundtable were moderator Steve Brint, MD, New Orleans; Robert Lehmann, MD, Nacogdoches, TX; David Lubeck, MD, Homewood, IL; Kevin Miller, MD, Los Angeles; Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, Chicago; Michael Snyder, MD, Cincinnati; Abhay Vasavada, MS, FRCS, Ahmedabad, India; and Mitch Weikert, MD, Houston.

Besides the convenience of the dispersive and cohesive characteristics in one product, other characteristics that participants like are that it provides the same clarity while in the eye as other products, it is retained well in the eye, and it is easily and rapidly removed.

Many of the physicians said the DisCoVisc was excellent for use in most patients, even those with complicated cases. However, some preferred to use Viscoat for patients with endothelial dysfunction because of the potential for better protection.

Regarding safety, physicians reported IOP levels in the low 20s (mm Hg) on the first day after cataract surgery and that this is below clinical concern levels for them. They added, however, that this is not the same with some Healon products (AMO), which have been shown clinically to have intermittent IOP spikes above 30 mm Hg on the first day. Most of the participants also said they would use DisCoVisc even in patients with a compromised optic disc because it is easily removed.

An added advantage is that DisCoVisc is packaged in 1-ml syringes, which seems to be more than sufficient to finish most cases.