Author: Healio ophthalmology

Senate Democrats boycott executive session on HHS, treasury secretary nominations

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee boycotted the executive session that would decide the nominations of Rep. Tom Price, MD, (R-Ga.) as secretary of HHS and Steven Mnuchin as secretary of the treasury.“I am disappointed that [the Democrats] are boycotting this consideration of Steven Mnuchin to be the secretary of the treasury and Representative Tom Price, one of the members of our Congress, to be secretary of Health and Human Services,” Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said. “We ought to be proud of [Price] and we (Read more...)

Pharmaceutical executives meet with Trump to discuss affordability, accessibility of prescription drugs

President Donald J. Trump met today with executives from the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies to discuss strategies to increase U.S. production while reforming regulations that contribute to higher costs.Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), described the session as “a positive, productive meeting.”

What do the numbers tell us about the iStent?

As a cataract surgeon, my primary concern is managing a patient’s cataract. I want to provide my patient with the best vision and fewest postoperative issues possible. When I finish a case that in my mind went perfect, do I really want to tilt the patient’s head, tilt the microscope and deal with a glaucoma stent?It is easy to convince ourselves that if a patient with concomitant glaucoma is controlled on drops, we should leave well enough alone. But my feeling is I have a responsibility to help these patients (Read more...)

WHO nominates three candidates for director-general

The WHO Executive Board narrowed a list of nominees to be its next director-general to three candidates.David N. Nabarro, BM, BCh, of the United Kingdom; Sania Nishtar, PhD, of Pakistan; and Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, will face a vote by WHO member states in May during the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The winner will assume office as the eighth elected director-general on July 1.

Surgical robot successfully removes blood clot in patient with retinal vein occlusion

Blockage from a blood clot causing retinal vein occlusion in a patient was for the first time removed with the help of a surgical robot at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium.Operated by Peter Stalmans, MD, PhD, the robot injected ocriplasmin through a 0.03-mm needle into the target vessel. The plasmin enzyme was able to break up and dissolve the blood clot. In a press release, the team of surgeons that carried out the operation called this technique of retinal vein cannulation (RVC) “a revolutionary treatment that addresses the cause of (Read more...)