Month: April 2013

SAN FRANCISCO — Secondary or piggyback IOLs are a viable alternative to other methods of managing refractive error after cataract surgery in eyes that have had previous laser refractive surgery, a speaker said here.Warren E. Hill, MD, shared pearls on refractive assessment and lens choice during Cornea Day preceding the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

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BASSANO DEL GRAPPA, Italy — A manual technique combining arcuate incisions and horizontal separation within stromal layers can effectively address astigmatism following anterior corneal transplantation, according to one surgeon.This technique, according to Massimo Camellin, MD, can be applied to address astigmatic depression areas, where the donor cornea has sunk below the recipient level.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Significant variation in treatment and prophylaxis management was seen among clinicians treating keratitis associated with herpes simplex virus and herpes zoster virus, according to a study.A retrospective review that documented demographics, treatment, prophylaxis and recurrence included 193 eyes of 188 patients who presented with HSV or HZV keratitis. Of patients who were on a prophylactic regimen, there were no differences seen between groups regarding the rate of recurrence; however, for patients not on such a regimen, patients with HSV had more recurrences, Halah M. Ali, MBBS, MSc, (Read more...)

SAN FRANCISCO — Cataract surgery alone is preferable to performing it in conjunction with endothelial keratoplasty in cases of concurrent cataract and Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy, a surgeon said here. During Cornea Day preceding the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting, Francis S. Mah, MD, presented pearls on protecting the endothelium in cataract surgery with concomitant Fuchs’ dystrophy.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Fibromyalgia patients present with signs and symptoms of evaporative and aqueous deficient dry eye disease, according to a physician here.”Fibromyalgia patients should be routinely questioned as to any signs or symptoms of dry eye and referred for a comprehensive evaluation to determine the nature of their dry eye disease and the most appropriate therapeutic course,” Jack V. Greiner, DO, PhD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Hydrogel corneal inlays may be a potential treatment for presbyopic patients, resulting in no loss of binocular vision and corneal clarity, according to a physician here.”The inlay has the effect of changing the anterior curvature of the cornea,” Stephen G. Slade, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Early suture removal after penetrating keratoplasty with a femtosecond laser-generated zigzag incision afforded stable visual recovery and minimal astigmatism, a speaker said here.”Conventional corneal transplantation has been around for quite some time, and while it is a very good procedure, it does have some limitations, such as long recovery, suture-in-and-out astigmatism and poor corrected distance visual acuity,” Matthew Wade, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Generalized polyangiitis can mask itself as atypical conjunctivitis, and high clinical suspicion for vasculitis should warrant immediate additional evaluation and tissue biopsy, according to a physician here.”Critical review of radiologic images and tissue biopsies can aid in the accurate diagnosis of this systemic disease because missing the diagnosis can be a fatal mistake,” Evan C. Pike, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

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BASSANO DEL GRAPPA, Italy — Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery will become the state of the art in the coming years, although further developments of the technique and technology upgrades are needed, according to a panel of surgeons speaking at a meeting at the San Bassiano Hospital here. “It’s still early days, and the technique is far from being perfect. As it is now, it requires longer times, and we don’t know yet how to improve some of the weak points of the procedure, such as hydrodissection. However, problems are there (Read more...)

SAN FRANCISCO — Small-incision lenticule extraction and femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK offered comparable visual and refractive outcomes, a speaker said here.At the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting, Angie De La Mota, MD, presented results of a randomized study comparing visual, refractive, anatomic and sensory outcomes with small-incision lenticule extraction (smile) and femtosecond LASIK.

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SAN FRANCISCO — More than half of clear corneal incisions and almost one-quarter of sutured cataract wounds leaked when tested with calibrated reproducible force, according to a study presented here.“Even after stromal hydration, 60% of corneal wounds leaked when challenged,” John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, said in presenting the study he conducted with Samuel Masket, MD, during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.

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Misdiagnoses were responsible for the costliest and deadliest portion of US malpractice claims during the last 25 years, according to new research.After reviewing 350,706 malpractice payments through the National Practitioner Data Bank (1986 to 2010), …

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