Author: Healio ophthalmology

Bausch + Lomb finalizes acquisition of Technolas Perfect Vision

With Bausch + Lomb’s completion of its acquisition of Technolas Perfect Vision, the new entity will be known as Bausch + Lomb Technolas, according to a company news release.“The Technolas Perfect Vision team, led by CEO Dr. Kristian Hohla, has built a ‘best in class’ femtosecond laser platform and other exciting ophthalmic products that round out Bausch + Lomb’s surgical product portfolio and position us to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for ophthalmic surgeons,” Brent Saunders, president and CEO of Bausch + Lomb, said in the release.

Speaker: Corneal inlays moving closer to approval in US

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Two intracorneal inlays for the treatment of presbyopia may be nearing approval in the U.S., according to a speaker here.The ReVision Optics Raindrop inlay, composed of a disc of hydrogel that is implanted under a LASIK flap, is now completing its phase 3 U.S. Food and Drug Administration trial, OSN Cataract Surgery Section Editor John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, said at Hawaiian Eye 2013.

Bandage contact lenses under development as drug delivery vehicles

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Bandage contact lenses, which provide pain relief and comfort from exposed nerve endings that occur with corneal maladies such as corneal abrasions from corneal dystrophies, neurotrophic keratopathy, bullous keratopathy and postsurgical states, may also be developed into drug delivery vehicles, a speaker said here. “The motivating factor for this development is that the eye, the cornea in particular, has a very strong bioprotective mechanism. It allows low permeability of medicine to get into the eye. We know that the tear fluid that drains into the nasal cavity only allows about 1% to 5% of drops to be absorbed,” Nicoletta Fynn-Thompson, MD, said at Hawaiian Eye 2013.

Submacular hemorrhages may be managed with anti-VEGF

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Intravitreal injections may successfully help manage submacular hemorrhages, according to a speaker here.“We know that submacular hemorrhages have a significant variability in their clinical course,” Mark W. Johnson, MD, said at Retina 2013. “But it does seem that poor prognostic factors include thick blood under the fovea and the presence of AMD. And we know that when an eye has both of these factors, the final visual outcome if you don’t treat these is rarely better than 20/200.”

Recognizing conjunctival chalasis avoids dry eye misdiagnosis

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Recognizing conjunctival chalasis depends on listening to the patient’s symptoms and investigating any report of a specific site of discomfort or foreign body sensation, a speaker said.“Conjunctival chalasis occurs when there is a degeneration of Tenon’s fascia that ordinarily tethers the bulbar conjunctiva to the globe,” OSN Cataract Surgery Section Editor John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, said at Hawaiian Eye 2013. “This allows stretching and redundancy of the conjunctiva, which bunches up at the inferior lid margin, and sometimes elsewhere, and causes a foreign body sensation especially when the patient blinks.”

DMEK minimizes drawbacks of PK

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Endothelial keratoplasty procedures only replace the part of the cornea that is dysfunctional, making them potentially safer and yielding better visual results compared with penetrating keratoplasty, a speaker said here.“As we get more experience, we are becoming more exact in the way that we do the tissue replacement,” Francis W. Price Jr., MD, said at Hawaiian Eye 2013.

Rate of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery remains low

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Endophthalmitis after cataract surgery is uncommon, but it does happen, according to a speaker, with reported rates varying from 0.03% to 0.15%.When looking back at a single institution’s experience over a 15-year period during which nearly 60,000 cataract surgeries were performed, only 16 cases (0.03%) were identified, OSN Retina/Vitreous Board Member Andrew A. Moshfeghi, MD, MBA, said at Hawaiian Eye 2013.

Study: Pseudophakic dysphotopsia impedes function

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Researchers have found a correlation between pseudophakic dysphotopsia and impeded function, suggesting that the unwanted images are more than just an annoyance, according to a speaker here.Of 2,953 pseudophakic candidates considered for a visual quality study, only 70 met the criteria of having uncomplicated surgery, 20/20 results and no obvious ocular disease — no dry eye, no posterior capsule opacification (PCO), no blepharitis and no ocular complaint.

OCT may detect pre-perimetric changes in glaucomatous eyes

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Optic nerve head microcirculation is reduced in glaucoma patients, a speaker said here.“Conventionally, OCT is used to measure structure with micron precision, and that has been very useful in terms of characterizing the structure of the optic nerve head, the nerve fiber layer and the ganglion cell complex,” David Huang, MD, PhD, said at Hawaiian Eye 2013. “We developed a technique where we decomposed the OCT image into several spectral bands and analyzed them separately and recombined them to enhance a signal of flow.”