Optometry

As leading cataract surgeons reflect on the newest advances in the field over the past year, the femtosecond laser maintained its place in the spotlight.

A lower aspiration flow rate and lower bottle height result in better outcomes after phacoemulsification.

It costs five times more to attract new customers than to market to current patients.

A hydrogel liquid ocular bandage, designed to seal corneal incisions after cataract surgery, provided a smooth, soft, and transparent protective barrier film that may improve wound integrity and closure and did not decrease best-corrected visual acuity.

A newly launched diagnostic device and intraoperative tool enables real-time, on-the-table refractive measurements to guide decisions during cataract surgery.

Accommodation restoration through photodisruption of the crystalline lens using an ultra-short-pulse femtosecond laser appears safe and theoretically possible.

Analyses of data from a German CE study show femtosecond laser-based intrastromal correction of presbyopia results in significant improvement in near vision and high patient satisfaction with stable refractive outcomes for at least 2 years.

Enhanced laser vision correction surgery using a platform combining wavefront-guided ablation, iris registration, and femtosecond laser flap creation delivers excellent refractive and vision outcomes resulting in highly satisfied patients.

Simultaneous topography-guided PRK with collagen crosslinking seems to offer promising early results for patients with keratoconus who are contact lens tolerant.

In medicine, we find a variety of bests listed in the magazine.

Advanced technology from Schwind is already shaping the future of refractive surgery, but surgeons can look forward to further refinements and innovations that will offer additional capabilities.

Coaxial microincision cataract surgery is a better phacoemulsification procedure because it delivers better patient outcomes.

Running sales can be financially counterproductive if they do not bring in new customers and only reduce the price that existing customers pay for products they buy.

More ophthalmologists are looking into bringing the process of cutting and polishing a lens for fitting into an eyeglass frame on-site, in a dedicated area of practice.

Robert H. Osher, MD, is pulling together plans for his second "Cataract Surgery: Telling it like it is!" course to take place Jan. 19-22 in Sarasota, FL.

Monofocal IOLs provide good distance and near visual acuities of about 20/40 or better for pediatric patients when the targeted vision is within 1 D of emmetropia.

For healthy eyes undergoing sub-Bowman's keratomileusis using advanced technology, outcomes for efficacy and safety, including effects on dry eye, are similarly excellent using either an 8- or 9-mm diameter flap.

Enhanced low-compliance tubing on a proprietary phaco platform may help to increase vacuum limit safely and allow the surgeon to lower the bottle height or decrease the incision size with greater stability and safety without reduced ergonomic convenience.

Dr. McDonnell recalls a scenario involving hotel key cards and corporate sponsorship at a recent AAO meeting.

A 1-year extension of a two-year phase II study of treatment of diabetic macular edema allowed ranibizumab dosing frequency to increase from every 2 or 3 months to monthly.

The preoperative condition of the ocular surface affects outcomes after implantation of IOLs in patients undergoing cataract surgery.

Topcon Medical Laser Systems Inc. has launched a system upgrade for its family of lasers offering scanning technology and tissue-sparing sub-threshold treatment options.

Results of a prospective, randomized pilot study suggest that a topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, bromfenac 0.09%, may be a useful addition to an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agent, intravitreal ranibizumab, in patients being treated for exudative age-related macular degeneration.

The UV + riboflavin crosslinking procedure triggers the development of mild stromal haze in rabbit corneas, but it is not because of myofibroblast generation,a s it is for late haze after PRK.

Microincisional vitrectomy surgery using 23- and 25+-gauge instrumentation enhances the surgical management of complex macular pathologies.

A number of procedures are available to address presbyopia, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

Careful investigation using a systematic approach to troubleshoot patients dissatisfied after multifocal IOL implantation usually can identify an underlying cause that can be effectively managed with conservative intervention and avoidance of further intraocular surgery.

Julia A. Haller, MD, details the complex medical case of a blind African teeneager recently freed from slavery in the Sudan.

A triple-function 23-gauge laser endoscope is available for video, imaging, and laser during an array of retinal procedures.

A new aspheric treatment for presbyopia, P-curve, considers both the total Q value and the corneal asphericity among other parameters to induce the negative spherical aberration that is lost with aging.