News

FDA approval of topography-guided PRK brings additional benefits to small subset of patients

Refractive focus also includes posterior corneal astigmatism, aberrometry for toric IOLs

Refractive technologies also advance with laser-assisted cataract surgery

A pictorial about eating ourselves to death in America

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s aflibercept (Eylea) injection for the treatment of macular edema following central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).

A careful history taking-with special attention to risk factors-may aid ophthalmologists in the prevention of diplopia after surgical procedures, said Anya Trumler, MD.

Alcon Laboratories Inc. has launched ocriplasmin, its treatment of symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion (VMA), in Canada.

The Vision Care Institute, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., has announced that 100,000 eye care professionals attended courses throughout its network of 14 sites worldwide.

In New Orleans, the theme song “The Saints Go Marching In,” sings the famous line, “I want to be in that Number.” The American Academy of Ophthalmology is hoping that thousands of its members will want to be in that number too-the Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS) Registry, formally introduced on Sunday.

Before Paul Sternberg Jr., MD, steps aside from his role as the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s president, he said he does not look back to recount his time in the office. Instead, he addressed the future.

Calling it an “innovator’s dilemma,” Mark S. Blumenkranz, MD, reflected on the extreme difficulties inventors often face in the beginning of a technological advance.

A corneal inlay (Kamra, AcuFocus) for presbyopia seems to be a good treatment option for emmetropic and ametropic presbyopic patients, as well as for presbyopic patients who underwent a previous LASIK procedure, said Minoru Tomita, MD, PhD.

Part-time patching resulted in only a mild reduction in deterioration of intermittent exotropia (IXT), according to Brian G. Mohney, MD.

Findings from an international trial with follow-up in some subjects now extending beyond 6 years show that a retinal prosthesis (Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, Second Sight Medical Products) remains safe, said Allen C. Ho, MD.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has clouded the future of ophthalmology, said William L. Rich, MD.

Looking to the future of dry eye management, Penny Asbell, MD, said she sees multiple examples of hope: a new device, trial findings, and emerging FDA and non-FDA approved therapeutics.

When asking the question, “What’s the ideal surface ablation: Laser, scraping, or alcohol?” it is not surprising that the response from Marguerite B. McDonald, MD, favors an approach known as Epi-Bowman Keratectomy (EBK).

Though fluoroquinolones remain mainstays for treating infectious keratitis, new medical therapies are emerging, said Eduardo C. Alfonso, MD.

The reality of glaucomatous progression bites, said Joel S. Schuman, MD-and it can bite even before structural or functional change is clinically noted by current technology.

When mild glaucoma and a visually significant cataract are both present, the risk/benefit calculus now seems to fall on the side of doing phaco, or a phaco-plus procedure, said James D. Brandt, MD.

You have to walk away from an OIS meeting like this and tell yourself how amazing it is to have great minds developing devices and drugs that will elevate clinical care for ophthalmic patients-and at the end of the day will make physicians’ job easier and better.

Apoptosis may be the best characterized form of programmed cell death-but it isn’t in isolation, said Joan W. Miller, MD.

Often forgotten in the buzz over corneal crosslinking (CXL) is that the procedure kills cells down to 300 µm deep, knocking out everything in its path, including microorganisms and keratocytes, said Theo Seiler, MD, PhD.

For patients with low to moderate hyperopia who may be risk-adverse for surgical correction, there is a low-cost, non-invasive, pain-free procedure of 2.5 seconds, said James J. Salz, MD.

Outcomes for three presbyopia-correcting IOLs-one accommodating and two multifocals-were similar, said Robert Edward Ang, MD.

An update is provided on the latest developments for an evidence-based approach in mild to severe dry eye disease.

Since dry eye is an early presenting sign, eye-care providers need to maintain a high index of suspicion for Sjögren’s syndrome in patients with clinically significant dry eye.

A patient satisfaction and quality-of-life survey found that three presbyopia-correcting IOLs provide better spectacle independence than monovision.

The majority of cataract patients likely have significant tear film disturbances that can affect their preoperative measurements and postoperative satisfaction with cataract surgery.

The absence of glistening formation is among the advantages associated with new IOL technology, relates one ophthalmologist.