News

The Ophthalmology Times staff, including Publisher Lauri Jorgensen and Editor-in-Chief Mark L. Dlugoss, welcomed members of the ophthalmic industry to the San Francisco Marriott on Sunday evening to celebrate the publication's 30th anniversary. A cocktail reception was held at the 39th Floor Lounge, The View, where more than 100 guests enjoyed the setting overlooking San Francisco.

Alcon Laboratories rolls out several extensions to its product offerings, including the AcrySof toric IOL, DisCoVisc ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD), and Systane Free lubricant eye drops.

Word search puzzles are an effective way for patients to exercise their ciliary muscles after crystalens accommodating IOL (eyeonics) implantation, explained Paul Koch, MD, who developed a series of six exercise booklets, each containing 14 different puzzles.

Short-term results with the Tetraform phakic IOL (Lenstec) implanted in eyes for the correction of high myopia indicate this anterior chamber lens is promising technology, said Donald R. Sanders, MD, PhD.

Results of a preclinical study undertaken at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, indicate higher aqueous humor concentrations of fourth-generation fluoroquinolones can be achieved by implanting an antibiotic-presoaked IOL compared with standard topical administration, reported Guy Kleinmann, MD.

The combination of an apodized diffractive IOL (AcrySof ReSTOR, Alcon Laboratories) in one eye and a refractive multifocal IOL (ReZoom, AMO) in the other provides greater patient satisfaction than the same diffractive IOLs (AcrySof ReSTOR) in both eyes, according to a study conducted by Henry L. Milne, MD.

Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) appears to be a viable approach for treating carefully selected pediatric eyes with dense superficial corneal opacity, said Arias N. Kollias, MD.

Initial results from a prospective, randomized clinical trial show that both LASIK and PRK with adjunctive topical mitomycin-C (MMC) are safe and effective for decreasing myopia and astigmatism after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) for keratoconus, but suggest a possible advantage of the surface ablation technique for better reduction of cylinder, reported Rene? Solomon, MD.

Eric Donnenfeld, MD, described the current recommendations formulated by the newly created Ectasia Committee at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS).

When other possible treatments for ectasia fail, lamellar keratoplasty (LK) or penetrating keratoplasty (PK) may be the last resort for these patients, said William Culbertson, MD.

Findings from the Swedish National Cataract Register tracking the incidence of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery in Sweden showed a low incidence of this complication with only 108 endophthalmitis cases after 225,000 procedures performed during 2002 and 2004, according to Mats Lundstrom, MD.

Early curvature changes on the corneal surface that are measured by topography need to be heeded in patients undergoing refractive surgery, according to Steven Klyce, PhD.

A new treatment strategy consisting of oral doxycycline and topical sodium citrate 10% may have a positive role in the treatment of post-LASIK inflammatory conditions characterized by increased collagenolytic activities, said Elias F. Jarade, MD.

The Synchrony dual-optic single-piece IOL (Visiogen) performed well in a small initial study of this lens. The visual results were good; there were no major complications; no glare and halos after implantation; and patient satisfaction was high, according to George Beiko, MD, FRCS, who reported his experience at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Cataract surgery and refractive surgery are merging into one discipline. This convergence reflects a bridging of the skill sets and the mindsets from refractive surgery pioneered by Jose Barraquer, MD, to the technology of the cataract and IOL surgery proposed by Charles Kelman, MD, explained Stephen Lane, MD, during the 29th Binkhorst Lecture at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery's opening general session.

The opening general session Saturday morning officially kicked off the 32nd annual American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) symposium with a glance at ophthalmology's past and a commitment to build a bridge to the profession's future.

Placement of a single intrastromal corneal implant (Intacs, Addition Technology) appears to offer better results than double-segment placement when treating keratoconus in eyes with paracentral/peripheral cones, said Colin C. Chan, MD.

A new treatment strategy consisting of oral doxycycline and topical sodium citrate 10% may have a positive role in the treatment of post-LASIK inflammatory conditions characterized by increased collagenolytic activities, said Elias F. Jarade, MD.

Refractive surgeons can look forward to a number of accommodating IOL options for their patients in the future, explained Steven Dell, MD, who spoke at the Hot Topics Symposium during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Refractive surgeons can safely and effectively use a single application of low-dose mitomycin-C to treat or prevent corneal haze and scarring associated with surface ablations, according to Capt. Steven C. Schallhorn, MD, who spoke at the Hot Topics Symposium during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.

Adjunctive use of mitomycin-C (MMC) 0.02% during pterygium surgery results in statistically significant endothelial cell loss, reported Rahamin Avisar, MD.

Epi-LASIK with the EpiVision System (CooperVision Surgical) is a definite advance in surface ablation techniques for refractive surgeons, according to surgeons experienced with the device.

Carl Zeiss Meditec introduces several product developments at this year's meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) announced it will pledge $1 million to support independent research/programming in refractive lenticular science sponsored by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation. I. Howard Fine, MD, ASCRS foundation chairman, announced the AMO grant during the opening general session Saturday morning.

From the late 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century, there has been increasing interest in different kinds of refractive procedures, Jos? Guell, MD, PhD. One option that has been receiving more and more attention is phakic IOLs. He highlighted some of the factors for this during Cornea Day 2006 at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

yePAC held its annual benefit event at Gump's department store Friday evening prior to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) welcome reception at SBC Park.

They're annual rites of spring: the joint meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) and a new season of Major League Baseball. On Friday evening, March 17, the events converged as several thousand ASCRS/ASOA delegates attended a welcome reception at SBC Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.

Now is the time for practitioners to begin to do their homework on electronic medical records (EMRs) systems. The federal government has a significant mandate with a large budget to standardize and implement their use in clinical practice, said Richard A. Lewis, MD, at Glaucoma Day at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

Cataract surgery in eyes with angle-closure glaucoma can present the need for small pupil management techniques, said Murray Johnstone, MD. Dr. Johnstone reviewed several pearls for handling these challenging cases at Glaucoma Day at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

Ophthalmologists should always strive to position their discussions with glaucoma patients in a positive zone, said Reay Brown, MD, at Glaucoma Day at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) meeting.