Cataract & Refractive

Failure to follow-up after ophthalmology appointments can damage patients’ health, a new study suggests. “In our view, national consideration should be given to create targets for reporting how well providers are managing follow-up patients,” reported A Davis and colleagues in the journal Eye.

Only weak evidence supports the use of IOLs that filter visible blue light, researchers say. “On the basis of currently available evidence, one cannot advocate for the use of blue-light-filtering IOLs over UV-only filtering IOLs,” wroite X. Li, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland, and colleagues.

Fluorescence of lens proteins could help understand, diagnose, and treat cataracts, researchers say.“Rather than waiting for the condition to appear, it could be possible to diagnose and monitor cataract before it forms, allowing preventative measures to be taken where possible,” said Rory Duncan of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburh, United Kingdom in a press release.

Argon laser peripheral iridoplasty (ALPI) significantly widens the anterior chamber angle circumferentially in eyes with occludable angles treated with laser peripheral iridotomy, researchers say.

More citizens from the United Kingdom are traveling abroad for laser eye procedures, according to a medical travel website. Enquiries from the United Kingdom into overseas clinics for laser procedures rose 60% in the 12 months ending November 15, 2016, according to WhatClinic.com, which lists medical clinic by location.

With the start of each new year also comes the hope for many innovations and advances. On top of that, I hope we can still make progress for our patients in our beloved field of ophthalmology.

A prospective masked study enrolling eyes with low to moderate myopia with or without astigmatism found significantly better efficacy, safety, and predictability with wavefront-guided LASIK compared with small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE).

Accumulating evidence suggests that multiple treatments can help people with amblyopia, according to a review of the literature.

Work is progressing on contact lenses that can monitor biomarkers in tear film for intraocular pressure, diabetes mellitus, and other health conditions.

Reductions in vision correlate with lower literacy scores on standardised tests, a new study showed.

Cataract surgery assisted by viscosplit and crack with a new phaco tip gives good results compared with standard phacoemulsification, either bimanual or one-handed.

Rayner designs and manufactures IOLs and proprietary injection devices for use in cataract surgery. As the first manufacturer of the IOL, they’ve been working with surgeons for longer than anyone.

Patient satisfaction is high following implant of the Symfony IOL, which is designed with an elongated focal zone in an attempt to minimise visual compromises and avoid visual dysphotopsias.

Findings of a literature review highlight the need for more studies to compare SMILE and WFG LASIK for treatment of myopia and myopic astigmatism.

Ocular surface disease, including dry eye disease, is common in patients undergoing cataract surgery. It must be treated in order to optimise the ocular surface prior to surgery, and close follow-up in the postoperative period is important.

An I/A tip system comprises a preassembled, single-use silicone I/A tip, which has advantages over other commercially available products. It helps to reduce capsular rupture during cataract surgery and also eliminates tricky tip assembly and cleaning.

Despite predictions that the prevalence of APACG, a leading cause of blindness, is set to rise worldwide, some authors have reported a decline in certain countries.

A study showed manual small incision cataract surgery does not affect tear film stability or tear secretion differently than phacoemulsification does, while it also does not make patients' eyes more dry, either.

Cataract patients with small pupils present a particular challenge for surgeons. Using a pupil expansion device such as the Malyugin ring may help to reduce the complications associated with small pupil cataract surgery.

Incorrect IOL power is one of the most frequent reasons for IOL exchange following cataract surgery. Different options for the correction of residual refractive errors are being developed, including piggyback IOLs, light-adjustable lenses and multicomponent IOLs.

Topography disparity can even provide a useful parameter for diagnosing the subclinical form of the disease, said David P. Piñero, PhD, and colleagues from the Medimar International Hospital, Alicante, Spain.

Cataract surgery appears to reduce the risk of glaucoma in eyes with pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome, researchers said.

Rounded phaco tips reduce the risk of posterior capsule rupture, increasing the safety of phacoemulsification. The Dewey Radius Tip, which is used exactly like a sharp-edged phaco needle, has rounded edges. This reduces the risk of posterior capsule rupture during cataract surgery.

Five years of experience with the Rayner T-flex aspheric IOL show it to be a safe, highly effective long-term method of correcting the widest possible range of sphere and cylinder errors in pseudophakic patients with pre-existing corneal astigmatism.

The combination of MICS and MIGS can offer an effective surgical treatment for POAG when the reduction of IOP following cataract surgery alone is not sufficient to reduce a patient’s need for glaucoma therapies.

Corneal asphericity, OCT angiography, and balance control issues in glaucoma patients are analyzed in this industry update roundup.

In this article, the authors discuss how WF?guided and WF-optimized LASIK performed on hyperopic patients can provide similar results in terms of safety, contrast sensitivity and refractive error.

In SMILE the anterior-most stromal lamellae remain intact postoperatively. Here, the author discusses the biomechanical advantages of preserving the stronger anterior stroma and the resulting effects on spherical aberration control and optical quality.

PRK has been an established method for laser vision correction for nearly 30 years, however, its popularity has reduced somewhat due to the advent of LASIK. With a recent renewed interest in surface ablation techniques some modifications have been made to alleviate disadvantages of the procedure. In this article, the authors highlight their clinical experience of TESA in myopic eyes with or without astigmatism.