News

An anterior segment diagnostic imaging platform based on high-speed swept-source OCT is being developed by Heidelberg Engineering. It will provide biometry as well as corneal topography and tomography, while also enabling visualization of the anterior and posterior lens surfaces and assessment of the anterior chamber angle.

Documenting practice flow and needs is a critical step in preparation for choosing or replacing an electronic health record system.

With glaucoma drainage devices gaining in popularity, the implantation technique must be tweaked to achieve the best results with the fewest complications.

Robert Dempsey, vice president and business unit head at Shire Pharmaceutical’s Ophthalmics Business Unit, recently talked with Ophthalmology Times Group Content Director Mark L. Dlugoss about Shire’s entry into the eye care market. Among the topics discussed are Shire’s attraction to the market, Lifitegrast–its potential dry eye drug, and other potential ophthalmic compounds.

This new use of the word crackle reminds me of a virus because what causes it is often hard to pinpoint; yet, the results are easily seen.

Bruce Allan, MD, UK and David Kang, MD, South Korea, are SCHWIND users for many years. Both greatly appreciate the outstanding performance features offered by the SCHWIND AMARIS excimer laser technology. The company‘s spirit of innovation, their willingness to advance the art and science of refractive surgery, and their responsiveness to feedback. In this video, Dr. Allan and Dr. Kang comment on the sophisticated SCHWIND AMARIS features SmartPulse Technology and TransPRK.

Professor Rudy Nuijts, Professor James Wolffsohn, Dr Mark Cherny and Dr David Frazer share their views on the taboo topic of refractive surprise in cataract surgery. They explain what it means to have a refractive surprise, why they occur, the importance of patient satisfaction and the options available to surgeons (including Rayner Sulcoflex® case studies) when a situation involving a refractive surprise arises.

Professor Marc De Smet talks about the impact of Ozurdex in treating diabetic macular edema (DME) in the real world clinical setting. This renowned expert in the DME field, explores what the licensing of Ozurdex in DME means to both patients and retinal specialists when treating this potentially blinding condition.

Professor Anat Lowenstein talks about the impact of Ozurdex in treating diabetic macular edema (DME) in the real world clinical setting. This renowned expert in the DME field, explores what the licensing of Ozurdex in DME means to both patients and retinal specialists when treating this potentially blinding condition.

Take-home message: A novel approach to scleral suture fixation of a rotated in-the-bag toric IOL stabilizes the implant at the desired axis and prevents rotation in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions.

Contact lens-Assisted corneal crosslinking (CA-CXL) is a novel technique in which a riboflavin-soaked ultraviolet (UV) barrier-free soft contact lens is applied over the denuded cornea prior to UVA irradiation. It is used to allow CXL in eyes with a thin cornea and has been associated with good results, and can be done with a standard or accelerated CXL protocol.

A new contact lens to treat corneal edema after cataract surgery had favorable results in a group of 33 patients with corneal edema after extracapsular cataract extraction and IOL implantation and refractive lens exchange.

A small case series of patients has shown that use of beta-blocker drops may be a simple and inexpensive way to eliminate pain in patients with acute migraines.

The introduction of a femtosecond laser for cataract surgery into a practice can bring the concern for the potental loss of efficiency. A Louisville surgeon provides some solid advice and shares some strategies to make this new technology as efficient as possible.

Patients treated with Omidria (phenylephrine and ketorolac injection 1%/0.3%, Omeros) reported significantly less early postoperative pain following cataract surgery or IOL exchange than patients treated with placebo and also had significantly lower analgesic use. These findings suggest that use of Omidria could help improve patient satisfaction with these procedures.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting returns to Las Vegas on Nov. 14 to 17 at the Sands Expo/Venetian. Attendees will encounter a “full house” of educational options from which to choose.

Intraoperative aberrometry aphakic and pseudophakic readings can be comparable with careful control of surgical variables. Both readings can be useful to predict postoperative manifest refraction.

Society has variable expectations about the integrity with which people conduct themselves.

Here are the top 5 glaucoma news stories on Ophthalmology Times this year.

The glasses prescribing patterns of a pediatric ophthalmology group differed from the guidelines issued by the American Academy of Ophthalmology for infants less than age 1 year but were similar for children age 1 to 3 years, a study found. The study also demonstrated the efficacy of using electronic medical records for assessing physician decision-making.

Understanding of keratoconus and the resulting dramatic changes in management in recent years have given rise to treatment paradigms that would have been unrecognizable to ophthalmologists a generation ago. The new landscape features a wider range of treatment options, better diagnostic and monitoring tools, and better understanding of the underlying pathology of the disease.

The XEN Gel Stent is a micro-fistula implant designed to lower IOP without relying on physiologic outflow pathways – it connects the anterior chamber to the subconjunctival space. Prospective data from more than 900 surgeries from around the world support the safety and efficacy of this device.

Anti-integrin therapy is a promising new approach in the treatment of vitreoretinal disease. The first drug in this class, Allegro Ophthalmics’ Luminate, is in Phase 2 clinical trials for several indications, including wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and vitreomacular traction.

The rate of postoperative cystoid macular edema was lower in a recent study of nearly 1,000 cataract surgery patients at two sites using intravitreal transzonular antibiotic and steroid prophylaxis than in previous studies with topical administration.

An endoscope can improve outcomes in cases in which the view through the traditional operating microscope is known to be compromised preoperatively, and is a good backup if a problem makes visualization difficult intraoperatively.

Noncompliance with glaucoma medication is a familiar issue. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but aiming for simplicity, consistency, and stability from the start of treatment could help more patients adhere to their treatment plan.

Once-daily dosing of one drop of Roclatan (Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), containing a fixed-dose combination of latanoprost and a rho kinase inhibitor and norepinephrine transport inhibitor, was clinically and statistically superior to administration of its individual components for controlling IOP in open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.