Month: May 2014

At Kiawah Eye 2014, William B. Trattler, MD, discusses his presentation on the latest surgical techniques for successful pterygium treatment

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MILAN — The Italian Society of Ophthalmology honored Stefan Seregard, MD, this year with the SOI Honorary Award for his research and clinical work in the field of ocular tumors, primarily malignant melanoma.Important steps have been made in recent years in the management of melanoma, uveal and conjunctival, according to Seregard.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals has for the second time in a week revised its proposal to acquire Allergan, offering to exchange each Allergan share for $72 and maintain 0.83 shares of Valeant common stock, according to a company press release. The offer is an increase per share from $58.30 made earlier this week and is contingent on prompt good faith negotiations.“Shareholders will continue to be able to elect cash and/or Valeant stock, subject to proration. Pershing Square, Allergan’s largest shareholder with a 9.7% stake, has agreed to elect only stock consideration in (Read more...)

MILAN — A new home-use device allows patients to better maintain the effects of intense pulsed light treatment for dry eye, according to a speaker here. Intense pulsed light (IPL, DermaMed) as a treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)-related dry eye was developed by Rolando Toyos, MD, in collaboration with DermaMed and has been gaining popularity in recent years.

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Amid scrutiny from Congress and others over admissions delays and alleged hidden waiting lists, Eric Shinseki had stepped down from his role as US Secretary of Veterans Affairs. President Barack Obama announced today that Shinseki had already begun firing people responsible for some of the problems the president described as “unacceptable.”

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MILAN — As surgeons are using toric IOLs more frequently, it is important to optimize their potential, according to a specialist here. “First of all, keep patients out of contact lenses for some time, particularly if they use rigid gas permeable lenses, because they can influence the shape of the cornea. Some patients have been on RGP lenses for decades, and it takes weeks to get back to corneal stability,” Jay S. Pepose, MD, said at the annual joint meeting of Ocular Surgery News and the Italian Society of Ophthalmology.

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — A new diagnostic app demonstrated high levels of success in accurately diagnosing patients with uveitis, according to a presenter here.The uveitides are a diverse group of diseases, making diagnosis difficult, Andrew Reynolds, MD, said at Kiawah Eye 2014. As such, Reynolds and colleagues developed a new diagnostic tool, the Diagnostic Uveitis app, to aid in the diagnosis and evaluation of patients with uveitis.

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Resident-performed femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery was found equally safe when compared with standard phacoemulsification cataract surgery, according to a presenter here. At Kiawah Eye 2014, Reid Turner, MD, presented a retrospective chart review from September 2013 to May 2014 of laser-assisted cataract surgeries by performed senior residents at the Storm Eye Institute of the Medical University of South Carolina of 50 patients: 25 using femtosecond laser-assisted phaco and 25 using standard phacoemulsification.

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MILAN — When switching to femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, cataract surgeons should break old habits and adapt their technique to the specific requirements of the new technology, according to one specialist. Patient selection is the first crucial step, Simonetta Morselli, MD, said at the annual joint meeting of Ocular Surgery News and the Italian Society of Ophthalmology. Patients should have a clear, regular cornea, a sufficiently large pupil that dilates well and has no synechiae, a smooth anterior capsule and a cataract that is not too dense.

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MILAN — Combining the use of corneal collagen cross-linking with conductive keratoplasty led to stable vision improvement, according to a speaker here. Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) stops keratoconus progression but yields mild vision improvement, Roy S. Rubinfeld, MD, said at the annual joint meeting of Ocular Surgery News and the Italian Society of Ophthalmology.

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Doctors, nurses and other health professionals are just as likely to abuse drugs as anyone else, according to a report from California’s Department of emergency medicine, and some have made headlines. Some problems are obvious, such as drug inventory not adding up or detecting signs that someone is visibly impaired, but as headlines have proven, many addicts function in their positions without revealing blatant clues. So what are the signs that a coworker is one of the 10 to 14 out of every 100 people likely to be abusing drugs?

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MILAN — Performing small-incision lenticule extraction deeper in the corneal stroma enables the surgeon to use the same technique a second time in case enhancement is needed,  a presenter here said. “Small-incision lenticule extraction (smile, Carl Zeiss Meditec)  holds several advantages in comparison with LASIK. We have the same visual and refractive results, but less dry eye and better preservation of corneal biomechanics,” José Güell, MD, said at the annual joint meeting of Ocular Surgery News and the Italian Society of Ophthalmology.

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