Surgery

Dublin, Ireland-Allergan Inc. will cut more than 300 jobs this spring at its Westport plant in western Ireland as it transfers its contact lens solutions operations there to Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) of Santa Clara, CA.

Atlanta-CIBA Vision has extended its Platinum Guarantee to include its recently introduced O2OPTIX silicone hydrogel lens.

Baltimore-Intraocular implantation of fluocinolone acetonide (Retisert, Bausch & Lomb) has resulted in significant decreases in the recurrence rate of non-infectious posterior segment uveitis and improvements in visual acuity (VA), it was an-nounced at the annual meeting of the Retina Society here.

There are many locations within the eye that an IOL can be placed. Most often, lenses are placed in the bag, but they may be placed in the sulcus, sewn into the posterior chamber, or sewn into or clipped onto the iris. Another location can be in the anterior chamber. Let's look at the evolution of anterior chamber IOLs (AC IOLs) in this month's column.

New York-Aqueous misdirection is "a rare, but serious complication of intraocular surgery" that requires immediate attention to prevent lasting damage, Celso Tello, MD, told participants at the Glaucoma 2004 meeting here.

Dermis fat grafts have become "overlooked" as orbital implants in favor of newer alternatives but deserve to maintain a role in primary and secondary socket implant procedures, and more complex socket problems, said James A. Katowitz, MD, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The accommodating IOL (Crystalens, eyeonics) appears promising in providing pseudophakic patients with enough pseudoaccommodation to function without near glasses, said George I. Papastergiou, MD.

NuLens Ltd., a company formed 2 years ago in Herzliya Pituach, Israel, has developed a new accommodative IOL technology that offers more than 10 D of accommodative power, according to Joshua Ben-Nun, MD, chief scientific officer, NuLens, who spoke at a breakfast session during the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Late onset bleb leakage usually occurs 2 to 3 years after glaucoma filtering surgery with an incidence between 2% and 9%. This condition warrants treatment, according to Philip P. Chen, MD, who spoke during the glaucoma subspecialty day meeting.

Laser presbyopia reversal (LAPR) is showing significant promise and patient satisfaction based on 12-month follow-up results from a U.S. clinical trial, said Sandra C. Belmont, MD, at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting.

Laser presbyopia reversal (LAPR) is showing significant promise and patient satisfaction based on 12-month follow-up results from a U.S. clinical trial, said Sandra C. Belmont, MD, at the refractive surgery subspecialty day meeting.

S?o Paulo, Brazil-Botulinum toxin type A (Botox, Allergan) significantly improves all aspects of quality of life in patients with blepharospasm, according to Tammy Osaki, MS, a medical student at the Vision Institute of the Federal University of S?o Paulo, Brazil.

San Diego-A system for performing a sutureless posterior vitrectomy uses 25-gauge cannula instruments that can be inserted directly through the conjunctiva and eliminates the need for its dissection. The transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy system (TSV25, Bausch & Lomb) reduces the problems associated with performing surgery in eyes with a shallow anterior chamber, according to Rosa Braga-Mele, MD.

San Diego-Scleral ablation with the 2.94 erbium:YAG laser for the treatment of presbyopia seems to be an effective and safe procedure in most patients, according to Bobby Maddox, MD, here at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Durham, NC-Results of a 9-month randomized, dose-masked, multicenter clinical trial of a fluocinolone acetonide sustained drug delivery system to treat posterior uveitis resulted in significant gains for the eyes that received implants when compared with fellow eyes that did not receive implants, said Glenn J. Jaffe, MD.

That particular charm that belongs only to New Orleans has lured the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) back to this magical city for its annual meeting.The 2004 meeting is the first joint meeting with the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE).The main meeting will be preceded by 2 days of subspecialty presentations on Friday, Oct. 22 and Saturday, Oct. 23. All subspecialty day events and those of the main conference, Oct. 23 to 26, will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Evolution in instrumentation has been important in making bimanual microincision cataract surgery (MICS) a safe, effective, and efficient technique, said Richard Packard, MD.

With some of the leading ophthalmic surgeons and researchers from Europe and the United States in attendance, NuLens Ltd. introduced a new concept of accommodative IOLs for the treatment of presbyopia during an off-site presentation at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

San Diego-A new ultrathin IOL available in extremely high refractive powers offers distinct advantages over traditional thicker lenses or piggyback lenses for correction of hyperopia in patients with microphthalmos, according to Jochen Kammann, MD.

With the use of antifibrosis drugs, particularly 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C, success rates increase dramatically. Reported success rates in the literature range from 51% to 90%.

San Diego-With the availability of foldable IOLs able to correct up to -31 D of spherical error, refractive lens exchange (RLE) for high myopia is now an option for patients hoping to achieve a good refractive outcome. However, patients will need to be monitored long term for potential complications, such as retinal detachments and posterior capsular opacification (PCO), explained Thomas Kohnen, MD, who spoke during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Use of drugs and drainage implants also improves trabeculectomy outcomes

Irvine, CA-Medennium Inc. is moving its offices to a new facility about a mile from its previous location.

Don't miss "Ultimate Grand Rounds: Challenges in Cataract Surgery and Corneal Disease" (Sunday, Oct. 24, 10:40 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.), which is an exciting new session on cataract surgery and corneal disease. It will feature debates on case studies covering topics such as capsular tension rings, vitreous loss, multifocal IOLs, pterygium, herpes, dry eye, management of Fuchs' dystrophy, and cataract.

Houston-A number of surgical options are available for managing the anophthalmic socket after primary enucleation and evisceration. However, there is little consensus about what implant or wrapping material is preferred, according to Grant W. Su, MD.

Pre-formed gel masks are applied to patients requesting injectable cosmetic therapies.

San Diego-Phakic anterior chamber IOLs affect the biometric measurement of axial length, which results in clinically significant errors in IOL power calculations in patients who need to undergo cataract surgery. Gerald Zaidman, MD, described such a patient and offered suggestions for managing this complicated problem here at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Rochester, NY-Bausch & Lomb and CIBA Vision Corp. have settled longstanding patent infringement lawsuits related to silicone hydrogel contact lens materials used to make their extended-wear lenses.