Home monitoring program for high-risk AMD candidates may have public health impact

VIENNA — Broader implementation of a home monitoring program for detecting early AMD in patients at high risk for developing the disease may potentially impact public health in the U.S., according to an analysis presented here. OSN Retina/Vitreous Board Member Carl D. Regillo, MD, discussed the potential public health impact of the Foresee Home AMD monitoring program, which uses preferential hyperacuity perimetry to help diagnose choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in its earliest stages.

Study investigates long-term removal rate of hydrogel after scleral buckling

VIENNA — The percentage of hydrogel implants that will develop symptomatic swelling may in the long term be higher than reported in literature, according to a large retrospective study carried out in a hospital center in the Netherlands. MIRAgel (hydrogel, MIRA) was used for scleral buckling surgery as an alternative to silicone approximately for a decade from the mid-1980s. The softness of the material seemed to have advantages over silicone, but after a few years hydrogel underwent degeneration and progressive swelling occurred, causing symptoms from about 5 years after implantation.