The Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling today that will accelerate the pace at which biosimilars can be made available to the public.The court ruled biosimilar manufacturers do not need to wait an extra 6 months after FDA approval to market their agents, provided the standard exclusivity period for the biosimilar’s reference product has expired.
Author: Healio ophthalmology
VIDEO: Software integrates with EMR to assist in patient education and follow-up care
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. ― At Kiawah Eye 2017, John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, discusses how his practice uses MDbackline software, which is integrated with the EMR system to electronically follow up with patients after an office visit or surgery to help proactively educate them or answer questions they may have concerning a diagnosis or procedure.
Cataract surgery technique addresses challenges of Stevens-Johnson syndrome
A modified surgical technique has been developed to treat cataract patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a disease characterized by blistering of the skin and mucous membranes.The modified technique, published in the Journal of Cataract and Refractiv…
PCO treatment would disrupt cataract surgery
The No. 1 unmet need in cataract surgery today is a safe and effective method to prevent posterior capsular opacity. Our inability to conquer the biology of the lens capsule and subcapsular epithelium after cataract surgery, which includes epithelial c…
Equalize pressure gradient to maintain control during removal of intumescent cataract
There are many challenges associated with phacoemulsification of intumescent white cataracts: The opaque lens material blocks the red reflex and hinders visualization of the capsule, the nuclear material may be quite dense, and there is a tendency for the capsulorrhexis to become errant, which can result in complications such as vitreous prolapse.Using trypan blue dye, we can stain the anterior lens capsule to aid in visualization during capsulorrhexis creation. With phaco power modulations and variants of the phaco chop technique, we can safely remove even dense nuclei while limiting the (Read more...)
Time is ripe to rethink posterior optic capture techniques
Techniques that place the IOL optic in Berger’s space after primary posterior capsulotomy have been around for some time. Surgeons who researched and pioneered these procedures called them by different names and proposed personal variations, but they all came to the same conclusion: This way of placing the lens creates a formidable barrier against posterior capsule opacification while maintaining the anterior hyaloid and vitreous intact.“I have a vision of this approach taking off eventually and becoming standard just for everyone,” Lisa B. Arbisser, MD, said. “And I have a mission (Read more...)
The state of dry eye care, part 1
Back in the Dark Ages, you know, like 1999 or so, dry eye disease was considered the crabgrass that grows on the lawn of eye care. Ophthalmology especially.My tiny tribe of DED pilgrims were looked upon with pity, if we were looked upon at all. Perfectly good dry eye medications were ignored and/or abandoned, even if they had an on-label indication to treat an established dry eye sign or symptom — ahem, Lotemax (loteprednol etabonate, Bausch + Lomb). The near universal opinion in the eye care community was that there (Read more...)
Could femtosecond laser technology encourage more cataract surgeons to perform primary posterior capsulotomy and optic capture?
PointYes, as far as primary posterior laser capsulotomy (PPLC) is concerned. By doing femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery with standard in-the-bag implantation, 3-D spectral-domain OCT has shown us how wide Berger’s space is after cataract surgery. First, because there is fluid movement through the zonules behind the posterior capsule, balanced salt solution and fluid are turning all round. Second, because the patient is in the supine position, gravitation and partially liquefied vitreous widen the space. Third, because the crystalline lens is removed and even with an IOL in place, there is (Read more...)
Young woman who went blind in one eye presents years later with symptoms in fellow eye
A 21-year-old Hispanic woman presented to the University of New Mexico with a 1-month history of worsening flashes of light and scotomas in her left superior field of vision.Regarding her medical and ocular history, the patient had previously been diagnosed with a “generalized vasculitis.” When she was 14 years old, she developed joint pain in her wrists, ankles and knees. Within a week of the onset of the arthralgias, she also lost vision in the right eye and has since only seen bare light perception in that eye. She was (Read more...)
Debate continues over immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery
Welcome to another edition of CEDARS/ASPENS Debates. CEDARS/ASPENS is a joint society of cornea, cataract and refractive surgery specialists, here to discuss some of the latest hot topics in ophthalmology.One topic that is gaining interest but always s…
EyeGate reports $2.9 million quarterly loss
EyeGate Pharmaceuticals reported a net loss of $2.9 million in the first quarter of 2017 compared with a net loss of $2.4 million in the same quarter of 2016. Revenue was $0.19 million for the quarter, and research and development costs were $1.8 million compared with no revenue in 2016’s first quarter and research and development costs of $0.9 million, according to a company press release.
AMA’s CEO says group is focused on ‘three strategic arcs’
The AMA has been focused on three strategic areas — enhancing professional satisfaction and practice sustainability, developing the medical school of the future, and bettering health outcomes for patients with prediabetes and hypertension — according to the organization’s CEO, James L. Madara, MD. However, these three areas have expanded and are now interconnected, he said.“It’s now possible to capture and represent the totality of AMA’s work as three strategic arcs — each with one of the focus areas at its core,” Madara told delegates at the group’s annual meeting that (Read more...)
VIDEO: Consider SLT with MIGS to lower medication dependence in glaucoma
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — At Kiawah Eye 2017, Savak “Sev” Teymoorian, MD, MBA, says that surgeons should consider adding selective laser trabeculoplasty, or SLT, to their MIGS procedure as a way of additionally reducing IOP and reducing patient reliance on medications.
AMA president stresses advocating for patients, fellow physicians at annual meeting
Andrew W. Gurman , MD , president of AMA, urged the nation’s physician and medical leaders to champion the causes of their patients and themselves at the organization’s annual meeting that is currently underway in Chicago. “For our colleagues out there who had not yet realized the importance of advocacy, I hope 2017 has been their wake-up call …. When the values inherent in [AMA’s] principles are threatened, when the health of our patients is jeopardized because of politics, then we must step up,” Gurman told delegates. “Each of us (Read more...)
VIDEO: Meibography helps show patients what gland disease looks like
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. ― At Kiawah Eye 2017, Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, discusses how the LipiScan from TearScience helps him show refractive cataract surgery patients the anatomy of the meibomian gland and meibomian gland disease. He says this has helped his practice improve the ocular surface before refractive cataract surgery for optimal visual outcomes.
VIDEO: Yeu shares pearls on incorporating laser-assisted cataract surgery
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. ― At Kiawah Eye 2017, Elizabeth Yeu, MD, of Virginia Eye Consultants, shares ergonomic pearls from her experience incorporating femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery.
June is Cataract Awareness Month
June is Cataract Awareness Month, a time when vision specialists reiterate the importance of early detection and treatment of cataracts, one of the leading causes of vision loss and blindness in the United States. Recent months have brought numerous ap…
VIDEO: Surgeon speaks about latest improvements in phacodynamics
MILAN — At the OSN Italy meeting, Steven Dewey, MD, speaks about the advantages of the automated occlusion sensing technology of the WhiteStar Signature Pro phacoemulsification system (Johnson & Johnson Vision).
CMS seeks public comment on reducing regulatory burdens of ACA
To identify and eliminate or change outdated, unnecessary or ineffective regulations that impose superfluous costs or create inconsistencies, CMS issued a Request for Information asking the public for recommendations and input on how to establish a more flexible, efficient approach to the regulatory structure of the individual and small group markets, according to a press release.“We are looking for valuable feedback on how to change existing regulations in ways that put patients first, promote greater consumer choice, enhance affordability and return more control over healthcare to the states,” Seema Verma, (Read more...)
Jonathan Talamo, MD, named chief medical officer of Johnson & Johnson Vision
Jonathan Talamo, MD, has been named as Johnson & Johnson Vision’s chief medical officer and worldwide vice president of medical affairs and clinical affairs, according to a company press release.A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Talamo has more than 25 years of ophthalmologic experience and most recently served as chief medical officer of Ocular Therapeutix.