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San Francisco-Patients who had severe night-visiondisturbances after refractive surgery found relief after undergoingtopography-wavefront-supported custom ablations to treat either asmall optical zone, previous decentered ablations, or irregularsurfaces, explained Dan Z. Reinstein, MD, MA(Cantab), FRCSC.

San Francisco-Outcomes from one surgeon's initial experiencewith use of the iris-claw phakic refractive IOL (Verisyse, AdvancedMedical Optics) suggest it is an acceptable choice for treatinghigh myopia, said Richard M. Awdeh, MD, at the American Society ofCataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

San Francisco-The Synchrony Dual Optic Accommodating IOL(Visiogen) provides good functional vision, that is, a full rangeof visual acuity, in the patients who have had the lens implanted,according to Ivan Ossma-Gomez, MD, who reported on the lens'performance at the American Society of Cataract and RefractiveSurgery annual meeting.

San Francisco-Blended vision with diffractive and refractivemultifocal IOLs offers better visual results in all lightingconditions than bilateral diffractive multifocal technology,explained Henry L. Milne, MD, at the American Society of Cataractand Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

San Francisco-Higher-order aberration interactions can occurwith customized ablations, regardless of the laser platform. Withthe development of a new nomogram, University of Rochesterresearchers have been able to neutralize these interactions,providing more predictable visual outcomes, explained Scott M.MacRae, MD, during the American Society of Cataract and RefractiveSurgery annual meeting.

San Francisco-Inferior placement of a single intrastromalcorneal ring segment (Intacs, Addition Technology) appears toafford better outcomes than double-segment placement when treatingkeratoconus and ectasia in eyes with peripheral (paracentral)cones, said Colin C.K. Chan, MD, at the annual meeting of theAmerican Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

The wave of the future is the truly accommodating IOL, that is, one that changes power and not position in the eye; these should have fewer ocular side effects compared with multifocal IOLs.

Cleveland-Twenty-three sites will collect data for anationwide study on the genetics of Fuchs' endothelial cornealdystrophy (FECD), which afflicts about 1% of the generalpopulation.

San Francisco-Topography detects the early curvature changeson the anterior corneal surface. And these are precisely thechanges that need to be heeded in patients undergoing refractivesurgery. These changes may have been ignored previously andresulted in the development of vision-threatening ectasia, reportedStephen D. Klyce, PhD, who spoke at the annual meeting of theAmerican Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

The Fusarium keratitis outbreak might have been spotted sooner hadthere been better communication between the country's ophthalmicmicrobiology centers, according to a couple of ophthalmologists.

Miami-In uveitis cases, laboratory testing often fails because of the low prevalence of the types of uveitis diagnosable by this means.

Compulsive graft management, questions, appropriate differentialdiagnosis are key, surgeon says

As investigators search for the source of an unusual outbreak of Fusarium keratitis cases among contact lens wearers, the number of confirmed cases continues to climb.

Baltimore-Divergence and convergence abnormalities are similar in nature and can be difficult to differentiate. Michael Repka, MD, described the subtleties as well as what works best for these patients.

Oklahoma City, OK-Ferreting out the causes of diplopia can betricky. To make the task easier, R. Michael Siatkowski, MD,outlined his four steps to finding the causes of diplopia and sevenrules that all cases should follow.

Lund, Sweden-The effect of cataract surgery for improvingvisual function decreases over time, but a high proportion ofpatients continue to enjoy the benefits of surgery up to 8 yearsafter the procedure, according to a study undertaken by Swedishophthalmologists.

San Francisco-Advanced surface treatment (AST) with the Epi-Kkeratome (Moria) is a significant advance in laser visioncorrection but necessitates special attention to pain relief andvisual recovery, said Henry "Rick" Milne III, MD, a refractivesurgeon in Columbia, SC, who has performed more than 300 cases withthis technique.

Analyses of flap thickness showed favorable predictability.

An impressive track record with the Dohlman-Doane Bostonkeratoprosthesis in adults at high risk for corneal transplantationhas motivated corneal surgeons to use the device in pediatric eyeswith corneal opacities, and the outcomes in those young patientshave been very encouraging.

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The primary disadvantage of frequent-replacement contacts isoverwear.

Dallas-Essilor of America Inc. now offers Definityprogressive lenses through its network of laboratories and otherselect labs nationwide. Definity lenses feature Dual Add, apatented technology that maximizes available design space of thelens, minimizing peripheral distortion and providing a smoothertransition between all distances.

S?o Paulo, Brazil-Early detection of glaucomatous functionalloss and its progression are facilitated by reliance on a singletest program and use of the computer-assisted interpretation toolsavailable for that technique, said Anders Heijl, MD, PhD, tocolleagues at the World Ophthalmology Congress.

The mean annual HSK recurrence rate was reduced significantly to ?0.45 episodes/year in both the punctal cautery and cyclosporine groups.

Beverly Hills, CA-Corneal collagen cross-linking withriboflavin (C3-R) appears effective for stabilizing keratometry incorneas that are demonstrating instability associated with avariety of pathologies, according to a study presented by MunishSharma, MD, MBBS.

All of the PTK-treated eyes experienced pain relief that persistedthrough follow-up.

San Francisco-IntraLase Corp. introduced itsfourth-generation FS Laser, a system that allows for a 100%blade-free LASIK procedure, according to the company.

San Francisco-Thin-flap LASIK with the K-4000 microkeratome(Becton Dickinson) is safe and delivers flaps that aresignificantly thinner than with other available heads. Thin-flapLASIK is the preferred choice with the K-4000 microkeratome,according to Rupal S. Shah, MD.

Mild haze (graded as 1.5 on a scale of 0 to 4 with higher scoresindicating more haze) was present the first day after surgery,which decreased by the fourth postoperative day to 0.5.