BARCELONA — The updated European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons study on femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery finds that “femto does not outperform phaco,” according to Peter Barry, MD, who delivered this year’s results.Although the ESCRS FLACS study found the femtosecond procedure to result in significantly better outcomes in terms of postoperative and surgically induced astigmatism, postoperative complications outnumbered those of phaco surgery, leading to a significantly higher percentage of patients with worse visual acuity than before surgery, Barry said at the ESCRS meeting.
Author: Healio ophthalmology
Xen gel stent maintains reduced IOP at 1 year
BARCELONA — Reduced IOP and reduced need for medications was maintained at 1 year after implantation of the Xen gel stent, according to a speaker here. “We like to call the AqueSys Xen gel stent a hybrid system,” Ingeborg Stalmans, MD, PhD, said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting. The ab interno glaucoma device is less invasive than trabeculectomy, but also targets the subconjunctival space as trabeculectomy does.
Presbia set to complete second stage enrollment for presbyopic lens
BARCELONA — Presbia announced here that it has scheduled final surgeries for implanting the Flexivue MicroLens, which will complete the second stage of enrollment for the FDA pivotal study.In February 2015, the FDA gave Presbia approval to begin the second stage study of the hydrophilic corneal inlay that is implanted in the non-dominant eye for the correction of presbyopia. The lens has a power range of 1.5 D to 3.5 D and is placed in a pocket created by a femtosecond laser.
New Pentacam combines current technology with axial length measurement
BARCELONA — Here at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting, Oculus announced the launch of Pentacam AXL, which measures the anterior eye segment as well as the axial length. The Pentacam AXL is equipped with Pentacam HR basic software modules, such as the Fast Screening Report and the Cataract Pre-Op Display, and all data, such as axial length, K values, anterior chamber depth and corneal diameter, are automatically transferred to the IOL calculation software, according to the press release.
VIDEO: Speaker gives update on Tecnis Symfony IOL
BARCELONA — At the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting, Gerd U. Auffarth, MD, highlights study results on the Tecnis Symfony IOL from Abbott Medical Optics.
VIDEO: PDEK gaining popularity among surgeons
BARCELONA — At the EuCornea meeting, Harminder Dua, MD, PhD, discusses the benefits and limitations of Pre Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty.
VIDEO: Implementing therapeutic refractive laser surgery in kerataconus patients
BARCELONA — At the EuCornea meeting, Farhad Hafezi, MD, PhD, talks about therapeutic refractive laser surgery for keratoconus. Until a few years ago, keratoconus patients were considered not eligible for excimer laser treatment. Now, combination with crosslinking allows stabilization and customized reshaping of the corneal surface, which improves image quality.
VIDEO: CEO shares perspective on MIGS
BARCELONA — At the Ophthalmology Futures European Forum, Brian Walsh, president and CEO of Transcend Medical, discusses the role of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery from the industry’s perspective.
Bowman’s layer transplantation technique postpones need for PK, DALK
BARCELONA —A Bowman’s layer graft intended to reduce advanced keratoconus may postpone the need for penetrating keratoplasty or deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty, according to a speaker at the EuCornea meeting.The grafting technique was evaluated in a study conducted by Korine van Dijk, MD, and colleagues at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery (NIIOS).
Diabetic retinopathy rare in children with diabetes mellitus
Researchers recommended that examinations for diabetic retinopathy could largely begin at 15 years old or later, in a study recently published in Ophthalmology.Geloneck and colleagues explained that this is due to the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy…
Speaker: Educate patients about MGD before cataract surgery
BARCELONA — One speaker here emphasized the importance of educating patients about meibomian gland disease before undergoing cataract surgery. “If you tell people they have dry eye before surgery, it’s their problem. If you tell them afterward, it’s your problem,” David Zadok, MD, said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.
Heidelberg engineering previews modular anterior segment imaging platform
BARCELONA — Heidelberg Engineering offered European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting attendees a preview of its new cataract and refractive imaging platform.The platform is modular and upgradeable, allowing surgeons to configure each product to the specific diagnostic workflow, according to a company press release. Options that will be available include IOL biometry, corneal topography/tomography, anterior segment biometry and anterior segment imaging.
Overall refractive astigmatism correlates with shorter chord length
BARCELONA — Measurement at a 2 mm chord length was more strongly correlated with overall ocular refractive astigmatism than when a 5 mm peripheral chord length was used, according to a speaker here. “We wanted to look at that relationship between corneal astigmatic power and ocular refraction and also look at different parameters such as chord length and … different techniques for measuring corneal power,” Phillip J. Buckhurst, MD, said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.
Richard Packard delivers Binkhorst Medal Lecture
BARCELONA — Richard Packard, MD, FRCS, FRCOphth, was honored as the Binkhorst Medal lecturer, “probably one of the greatest honors that can be given to an ophthalmologist in their career,” he said.Packard, who has been performing phacoemulsification since 1979, related the evolution of the capsulotomy in his lecture at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.
EU EYE launched at ESCRS meeting
BARCELONA — Thierry Zeyen, MD, outlined the structure and statutes of the European Alliance for Vision Research and Ophthalmology – or EU EYE – at a launch meeting here. EU EYE is a non-profit pan-European advocacy organization whose main objectives are to raise political and public awareness of ophthalmology and to increase funding for vision research, said Zeyen, who is president of the organization as well as a representative of the European Glaucoma Society.
VIDEO: Aniridia affects various parts of the eye
BARCELONA — At the World Congress of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, Dominique Brémond-Gignac, MD, talks about aniridia and its implications, including glaucoma, congenital cataract, retinal and optic nerve dysplasia and hypoplasia.
VIDEO: Use of femtosecond laser technology for IOL implantation
BARCELONA — At the Ophthalmology Futures European Forum, Calvin Roberts, MD, chief medical officer of Bausch + Lomb, discusses the widespread adoption of new intraocular lenses, specifically designed for femtosecond laser cataract surgery.
Donor diabetes affects DMEK graft preparation, not survival
BARCELONA — Donor diabetes significantly affects preparation of the Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty graft, but has no impact on graft survival rate or endothelial cell count, according to a study.With the rising prevalence of diabetes worldwide, an increasing number of donor corneas are likely to come from individuals with diabetes.
VIDEO: Speaker highlights this year’s ‘Buyer’s and Sellers’ symposium
BARCELONA — At the Ophthalmology Futures European Forum, James Mazzo, chairman and CEO of Acufocus, introduces the “Buyers and Sellers: A view from the Top” symposium.
Speaker: CorT total accurately measures corneal astigmatism
BARCELONA — Corneal topographic astigmatism total power measurement may be a more accurate and consistent method of measuring corneal astigmatism than the corneal topographic astigmatism anterior power measurement, according to a speaker here.“We thought it would be a natural thing to look at all the [Placido] rings, so if there was any irregularity in one, it is going to be ironed out by taking an average of all the rings,” Noel A. Alpins, MD, said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.