Surgery

Rockville, MD-The Association for Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) has announced the next recipient of its Friedenwald Award and a new member of its supporting organization's governing board.

Alicante, Spain-While one segment of the ophthalmic community sees presbyopic lens exchange for patients with high myopia as a promising, safe technique leading to good improvements in visual acuity, another segment does not, stating that the risk of retinal detachment and other complications related to the surgery are just too high, according to Jorge L. Alio, MD.

Charleston, SC-Pediatric cataract surgery with IOL implantation and primary posterior capsulectomy plus vitrectomy is associated with a satisfactory outcome, especially in children operated on after their first birthday, said Rupal H. Trivedi, MD, MSCR.

Salt Lake City-Failure to recognize late opacification of the MemoryLens IOL (CIBA Vision) as a cause for vision problems can have potentially negative consequences, including unnecessary surgery and complications secondary to those procedures, said Jonathan G. Haymore, MD.

IOL preference could be related to the degree of dysphotopsia, a better depth of field, or other factors.

Des Plaines, IL-Addition Technology Inc., maker of Intacs corneal implants for keratoconus and myopia, has acquired AlphaCor and AlphaSphere from CooperVision Surgical.

This year's scientific program includes more than 500 peer-reviewed courses.

Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) launched its Tecnis CL silicone IOL, which reduces spherical aberrations, improves functional vision, and improves night-driving simulator performance. This IOL replaces the company’s Z9000 and Z9001 Tecnis silicone IOL models.

The Tecnis multifocal IOL (Advanced Medical Optics) has been shown to be highly effective for patients with different clinical needs, such as in patients undergoing cataract surgery and IOL implantation, those with presbyopia, and in those with hyperopia. Three studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery reported the results with this IOL.

Pleasanton, CA-Certain elements are key to building a successful lenticular refractive practice, according to Shareef Mahdavi, BA. While technology will continue to evolve, success with implants will likewise require physicians to evolve their approaches to the business side of refractive surgery, namely, upgrading their customer service.

Minneapolis, MN-Early results are promising regarding the potential role of conductive keratoplasty (CK, Refractec) as an additional tool to improve vision outcomes in eyes with keratoconus or post-LASIK ectasia treated with corneal implants (Intacs, Addition Technology), said Jason K. Darlington, MD.

Cincinnati-"Regardless of whether we are talking about full-thickness transplants or endothelial transplants, corneal transplant rejection is the leading cause of graft failure," said Edward J. Holland, MD, director, Cornea and External Diseases, Cincinnati Eye Institute, Cincinnati.

The Tecnis multifocal IOL (Advanced Medical Optics) has been shown to be highly effective for patients with different clinical needs, such as in patients undergoing cataract surgery and IOL implantation, those with presbyopia, and in those with hyperopia. Three studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery reported the results with this IOL.

Los Angeles-Preliminary results from a prospective study of patients with the crystalens square edge (SE) accommodating IOL (eyeonics) implanted suggest modification of the original optic edge design has been effective for reducing the development of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and without causing an increase in visual quality-related complaints, according to D. Michael Colvard, MD.

Baltimore-Surgical results for patients requesting a blepharoplasty can be improved if the surgeon carefully examines individuals for coexisting diagnoses, pre-existing asymmetries, brow position, and lower eyelid malposition, explained Shannath L. Merbs, MD, PhD, FACS.

Baltimore-Tunnel creation for placement of corneal implants (Intacs, Addition Technology) in eyes with corneal ectasia is a promising new use for the femtosecond laser (IntraLase FS, IntraLase), according to Alisa Kim, MD.

The use of botulinum toxin by ophthalmologists to treat a variety of disorders has exploded over the past several years. It has highlighted many issues of interest, including off-label use, supply charges, and cosmetic indications. All of these have important implications for coding, billing, and reimbursement.

San Francisco-In an initial analysis, the Synchrony dual-optic single-piece IOL (Visiogen) performed well. The visual results were good, there were no major complications and no glare or halos after implantation, and patient satisfaction was high, according to George Beiko, BM, BCh, FRCS.

According to Alessandro Franchini, it is insufficient to design an aspheric lens that maintains a certain degree of spherical aberration simply to achieve a degree of pseudo-accommodation.

Clear corneal incisions and silicon IOLs are new risk factors in post-cataract surgery endophthalimitis, Peter Barry revealed in the first presentation of the full ESCRS endophthalmitis study results.

There is no current proof that blocking blue wavelengths guarantees retinal protection and, couple this with the fact that blocking this form of light causes an actual loss in visual quality, Alessandro Franchini MD, suggests we concentrate our efforts on blocking UV and violet radiations instead.

Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) announced the launch of the Tecnis CL intraocular lens (IOL) at the XXIV congress of the ESCRS.

The new MICS lens (Ioltech-Zeiss) is appropriate for the correction of intermediate vision in pseudophakia, according to Carlos Verges, Jorge Cazal and Marc Menezo of the Department of Ophthalmology, Institut Universitari Dexeus, Barcelona, Spain.

Addition Technology Inc. has acquired CooperVision Surgical’s AlphaCor and AlphaSphere and plans to add these products to the Intacs line of corneal implants.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-The B?rveldt-250 mm2 Glaucoma Implant (Advanced Medical Optics) seems to be more effective at lowering IOP than the Ahmed S2 Glaucoma Valve (New World Medical Inc.) in adult patients with refractory glaucoma. However, regardless of which of the devices is implanted, the preoperative IOP is a risk factor for eventual failure, according to Darrell WuDunn, MD, PhD, and colleagues, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

St. Petersburg, FL-Lenstec Inc. opened a new Barcelona sales office to help the company meet growing European demand for its lens implants and devices used in cataract and refractive surgery. With a sales and marketing office in Yorkshire, England, this move expands Lenstec's European operations.

Aliso Viejo, CA-Since FDA approval in 2003, more than 50,000 crystalens accommodating IOLs (eyeonics) have been implanted worldwide. Of these, 17,000 implants were with the crystalens SE second-generation lens (introduced in 2005), the company said in a prepared statement.

Fort Lauderdale, FL-A modified glaucoma valve made of a porous polymer material reduced outflow resistance in tests conducted in an animal model. The reduced resistance should in turn result in improved control of IOP over conventional implants, explained R. Rand Allingham, MD, at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

London, Ontario-During at least the first 12 months after treatment initiation, selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) and latanoprost 0.005% (Xalatan, Pfizer) are associated with equivalent efficacy and safety profiles when used as primary therapy for newly diagnosed open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, according to the results of a prospective, multicenter, parallel comparison, clinical trial conducted by researchers at Ivey Eye Institute, University of Western Ontario, London.

Several companies have introduced new products in their punctum plug lines, upgraded existing products, and modified their packaging for increased customer convenience.