News

Chicago—A careful history followed by a complete workup may be key to understanding and treating the cause of vision loss in patients with malignancy, explained Nicholas J. Volpe, MD.

With Medicare payments to physicians projected to decrease, treating patients will pose more challenges to ophthalmologists who are already experiencing decreased payments.

Chicago—The patterns of childhood blindness and visual impairment have been changing throughout the world over time. As socioeconomic status improves in many developing countries the major causes are changing, according to Clare Gilbert, MD, MSc, FRCOphth.

Chicago—Observations of patients in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) after they had cataract surgery did not seem to show an accelerated progression to neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared with patients matched for severity of AMD who did not have cataract surgery, reported Frederick L. Ferris III, MD, during retina subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

In conjunction with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting in Chicago last October, there was a musical performance tobenefit Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB). The show was titled "Doc Henry's Second Career" and was the first official "gig" of Henry I. Meisels, MD.

Chicago—The patterns of childhood blindness and visual impairment have been changing throughout the world over time. As socioeconomic status improves in many developing countries the major causes are changing, according to Clare Gilbert, MD, MSc, FRCOphth.

The Neuro-Ophthalmology Virtual Education Library (NOVEL) is a digital library produced through collaboration between the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library (EHSL) at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS), Minneapolis.

Though always discussed in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, the old adage "see one, do one, teach one" is essentially the closest thing most ophthalmology residency programs have to a surgical training curriculum.

The future of ophthalmology and patient care may well lie in patient education. According to a new study by the National Consumers League (NCL), many consumers—including those who wear glasses and contact lenses—are confused about the differences among various eye-care providers, the services they perform, and the training and education they must complete.

Chicago-Painful ophthalmoplegia may be a benign condition, such as microvascular ocular motor neuropathy, most commonly seen in the elderly with head and/or face pain, not requiring neuroimaging. On the other hand, it may be more serious with a combination of signs/symptoms that indicate a problem originating in the brain stem, cavernous sinus, or elsewhere, requiring a complete work-up, explained Gregory P. Van Stavern, MD.

With the widespread availability of OCT, clinical can easily examine the vitreous interface.

Chicago-"When is a lid laceration not just a lid laceration?" When it is occult penetrating orbito-cranial trauma, explained Roger E. Turbin, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology and associate director of neuro-ophthalmology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School.

One of the best things that ever happened to me was getting involved with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Committees that I've been on include ones that help write exam questions, select papers and abstracts to be presented at the annual meeting, and that established the refractive surgery subspecialty day courses.

Columbus, OH—Performing radial optic neurotomy with adjunctive intraocular triamcinolone seems to be a feasible procedure for treating patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). The clinical resolution of the CRVO and the improved vision were similar when compared with the outcomes in patients who underwent radial optic neurotomy alone, according to E. Mitchel Opremcak, MD.

Chicago—Observations of patients in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) after they had cataract surgery did not seem to show an accelerated progression to neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared with patients matched for severity of AMD who did not have cataract surgery, reported Frederick L. Ferris III, MD, during retina subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

The president, president-elect, and executive vice president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) recently offered a "state-of-the-profession" message during the opening session of the AAO annual meeting in Chicago. All three executives shared in a celebration of past achievements, current conditions, and future opportunities in ophthalmology

Chicago—Ophthalmologists at the Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, are warning their colleagues about a recent dramatic increase in cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis seen at their institution.

Chicago—A prospective study including consecutive eyes implanted with the KH-3500 IOL (Kellan TetraFlex, Lenstec) showed that pseudophakic implant is associated with encouraging results in measurements of subjective accommodation although its objective accommodating effect appears to be limited, reported Sunil Shah, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Rogers, AR—The recent approval of the Tecnis IOL (AMO) on an acrylic platform gives cataract surgeons another option in an expanding menu of choices, said Randy Cole, MD, FACS, who is medical director and founder of Boozman-Hof Eye Surgery and Laser Center, Rogers, AR.

Vienna, Austria—A sharp posterior optic edge design seems to be superior to a double round optic edge design in preventing posterior capsule opacification (PCO). Investigators reported significantly less PCO at 1, 2, and 3 years after implantation of the Sensar OptiEdge AR40e IOL compared with the Sensar AR40 model (both from AMO).

The development of IOLs has come full circle. In 1949, Sir Harold Ridley attempted to emulate the curvature and size of the natural lens with the development of the Ridley IOL. In subsequent years, the focus was on IOL mechanical issues, materials, and optics. Today, with wavefront technology, researchers are going back to the beginning and are attempting to emulate some of the more subtle features of the natural lens.

Lisbon, Portugal—Bilateral simultaneous surgery to implant an IOL seems to be a safe alternative for patients, and there are numerous advantages associated with performing a bilateral procedure, according to Richard Packard, MD, FRCS. In addition, using the AcrySof ReSTOR IOL (Alcon Laboratories) in this clinical situation provides excellent visual results and high patient satisfaction.

Chicago—Bimanual microincision phacoemulsification offers a number of advantages that make it a better method for lens removal than coaxial phacoemulsification and an especially attractive technique to use in complicated and challenging cases, said I. Howard Fine, MD, in his delivery of the inaugural Charles D. Kelman Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Lisbon, Portugal—A comparison study of the new aspheric SofPort Advanced Optics (AO) IOL (Bausch and Lomb) and a "parent" model, the conventional Soflex IOL, supported the manufacturer's claim that the AO lens does not induce aberrations, said Roberto Bellucci, MD, chief of the Ophthalmic Unit, Hospital of Verona, Italy.

Chicago—This past October, the FDA issued a labeling change for the drug tamsulosin HCl (Flomax, Boehringer Ingelheim) warning of the possibility of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS), stating "The patient's ophthalmologist should be prepared for possible modifications to their surgical technique."

Chicago—The ReZoom multifocal IOL (AMO) provides excellent distance vision and useful near and intermediate vision to afford complete spectacle independence for 80% to 90% of patients with the lens implanted, said Michael C. Knorz, MD, at the Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day Meeting sponsored by the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Lisbon, Portugal—The results of the 7th annual survey on foldable IOLs indicate that dislocation and decentration are the most common reasons for lens explantation, with incorrect lens power the next most important factor.

Cleveland, OH —Howard S. Siegel, MD, and his wife, Judith, love a spin around a dance floor—whether it be with dance clubs, in showcases, when traveling, or teaching their students.

A patient complained of severe glare and light sensitivity associated with a persistent traumatic mydriasis of the right eye. After conservative treatment with topical miotics and a painted contact lens failed to decrease the mydriasis, a cerclage pupilloplasty was performed on the right eye resulting in a 4-mm round pupil. The patient experienced significant reduction of glare and photophobia.

The promise of 2004, that new anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) be developed, came to fruition in 2005, much to the excitement of ophthalmologists. These emerging treatments for AMD took center stage this year and resulted in numerous ideas about the effect of the pharmaceutical advancements and their impact on other retinal diseases.