December | LASIK Flap Creation: the Cutting Edge of the Femtosecond Laser
The most notable advantages of FS laser flaps include reproducibility and customization capacity. The FS laser produces more precise intrastromal cutting and can be programmed for exact specifications of flap diameter, depth, and hinge location and size. Read more »
November | 3-Year Study Finds LASIK Patients More Satisfied Than Contact Lens Wearers
A new study published in the journal Ophthalmology may change perceptions about the benefits of LASIK. It found that LASIK patients are more satisfied than contact lens wearers. LASIK is especially underutilized among younger patients who stand to benefit the most. Read more »
October | Refractive and Cataract Highlights from AAO 2016 in Chicago
ISRS members took in the latest refractive and cataract news and technologies at Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day, the ISRS Annual Meeting, and AAO 2016 in Chicago. To help you review, here is a roundup of top news, videos and photos. Read more »
September | Update: Intracorneal Inlays Expand Options for Presbyopic Patients
Presbyopic patients in the United States now have two alternatives for vision correction with the recent FDA approval of the Raindrop Near Vision Inlay (ReVision Optics). Read more »
August | In Vivo Customization of IOLs
A number of technologies are in development that allow for refractive adjustment after IOL implantation. One intriguing new technology is the Perfect Lens, which can be modified by laser pulses once the eye has healed. Read more »
July | The Light Adjustable IOL
The concept: a light adjustable lens (LAL) that allows the surgeon to refract the patient after surgery—when the eye has stabilized—and modify the refractive power of the IOL to the patient’s desired refractive outcome using the non-invasive application of ultraviolet (UV) light to the eye. Read more »
June | Military Members Turn to Refractive Surgery to Improve Readiness
With numerous advancements in surgical technologies and techniques, military interest in refractive surgery has expanded globally during the last decade. Read more »
May | Advances in 24-Hour IOP Monitoring Offer New Opportunities in Glaucoma Management
Read about two new devices, one extraocular and one intraocular, that may offer a chance to monitor IOP continuously so clinicians can provide more personalized care to patients with glaucoma. Read more »
April | Femtosecond Laser Lens Softening for Presbyopia Correction
Current options for correcting presbyopia are limited. None are perfect and no method directly impacts the source of the problem, the aged inelastic lens. The latest approach to presbyopia correction is aimed at restoring natural accommodation by softening the lens with a femtosecond laser. Read more »
March | Applications of Anterior Segment OCT in Refractive Surgery
Because of its ability to visualize the anterior segment quickly and in high resolution, anterior segment OCT (AS-OCT) can be applied to different phases of multiple procedures to improve surgical decision-making and patient outcomes. Read more »
February | Presbyopia Eye Drop Targets Miosis and Accommodation
Recently, we featured 2 miotic drops that show promise as a treatment for presbyopia, PRX-100 and Presbyeyedrops. Both offer nonsurgical, reversible presbyopia correction, without the side effects of typical pupil restrictors and without affecting contrast sensitivity. Broadening the field of contenders is PresbyPlus™ and PresbV (Presbyopia Vejarano) Tears, which can also induce accommodation. Read more »
January | The Next Big Thing in Refractive Surgery
Refractive surgery continues to evolve in new directions. Here, five leaders in the field reveal their vision of the “next big thing” in refractive surgery. As always, when asking about the future, not everyone sees eye to eye. Read more »
December | Eye Drops For Presbyopia?
Imagine waking up in the morning and deciding you want to go without reading glasses today, so you reach for eye drops in the medicine cabinet. Read more »
October-November | Collagen Crosslinking as a Refractive Procedure?
Corneal collagen crosslinking, having earned wide acceptance as an effective treatment for stabilizing corneal ectasia and keratoconus, is now being applied as a noninvasive refractive procedure. Read more »
September | Uncovering Keratoconus
Whether performing a preoperative assessment for refractive surgery or treating patients with keratoconus, the stakes are high for clinicians to detect keratoconus and keratoconus progression as early as possible. Read more »
July-August | Is There Still a Role for Intracorneal Ring Segments?
The success of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) begs the question: Do intracorneal ring segments still have a role in the treatment of ectasia and other corneal disorders? Read more »
May-June | The Future of the Laser Vision Correction Market: Has It Reached Steady State?
Even after the U.S. economy improved, the LASIK market did not. Why? Some say a combination of market saturation, fear and confusion may have kept the market suppressed. Read more »
April | Achieving Greater Predictability in Corneal and Lenticular Refractive Surgery
While there is much talk about the convergence of refractive and cataract surgery, these procedures differ significantly in terms of predictability. However, new diagnostic technology may take corneal and lenticular refractive surgery to the next level, increasing their predictability. Read more »
March | YAG: The Next Laser For Refractive Surgeons?
An Australian company’s novel Nd:YAG laser may push refractive surgery into a new frontier – the posterior segment. The Ultra Q Reflex from Ellex Medical Lasers Inc. (Adelaide, Australia) is a nano-pulsed ophthalmic laser designed specifically to treat vitreous floaters that cause significant visual disturbance. Read more »
February | The Latest on Myopia Control
Myopia prevalence is quite high in many countries, and in some populations, it appears to be on the rise. In the United States, that increase has been dramatic. Read more »
January | New Tool for Identifying Ectasia-Prone Corneas
Researchers based in Brazil, France and the United States have developed a new metric that they believe could help refractive surgeons reduce the number of patients who – despite lacking preoperative risk factors – develop ectasia after myopic LASIK. Read more »
December | Lenticule Extraction: Refractive Surgery’s Next Step
Refractive lenticular extraction (ReLEx) procedures have advanced tremendously since being introduced a few years ago. With the advantage of leaving the anterior cornea nearly intact, lenticule extraction is demonstrating advantages over LASIK in terms of stability, predictability and safety, promising to change the future of refractive surgery. Read more »
November | A Closer Look at the Femto vs. Phaco Study
European researchers who analyzed records on more than 7,000 cataract surgeries concluded earlier this year that femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery does not outperform conventional cataract surgery, but the study was not comprehensive enough to put the matter to rest. Read more »
October | Wavefront vs. Topographic Ablation
Two technologies have emerged for performing customized refractive corneal ablations: topography and wavefront, each of which brings value to ablation planning. But do we need both? Read more »
September | Results Look Promising for Light Adjustable Lens
During the six years that the Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) has been available in Europe, this novel IOL has slowly accumulated a record for refractive predictability and stability and for safely bringing most eyes to within 0.25 to 0.5 D of emmetropia. Read more »
August | Patient Selection for Corneal Inlays
The ideal candidate for a presbyopia-correcting corneal inlay appears to be an adaptable, late-40s presbyopic emmetrope with a healthy tear film, but differences in optical designs among the inlays offer various features and benefits that make the patient selection process more complex. Read more »
July | Moving MIGS Into the Refractive Cataract Toolbox
Ophthalmic surgeons have begun exploring a new frontier for refractive cataract surgery: combining refractive cataract techniques with microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) to optimize refractive outcomes in patients with coexisting cataract and open-angle glaucoma (OAG). Read more »
June | Latest on Correcting Presbyopia with Scleral Surgery
Scleral surgery for presbyopia has never entered the mainstream, but advances in basic science, biophysiology and surgical technology hold the promise of more widespread adoption of this intriguing technology. Read more »
May | Softening the Presbyopia Lens with a Femtosecond Laser
The femtosecond laser is the latest device to be explored as a solution to the refractive problem that eventually afflicts every aging eye: presbyopia. Unlike previously explored methods, which commonly try to manipulate the visual system through pseudoaccommodation, this new approach to presbyopia is aimed re-enabling natural accommodation. Read more »
April | Femtosecond Lasers for Complex Cataract Surgeries
The great advantage of femtosecond lasers is their ability to provide cataract surgeons with consistent and predictable tissue dissection. It is this precision that makes femtosecond lasers so attractive in complex cataract surgery for Zoltan Z. Nagy, MD, professor of ophthalmology at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. Read more »
March | Femtosecond Laser-assisted Posterior Capsulotomy: The Solution to PCO Elimination?
Femtosecond laser-assisted posterior capsulotomy appears to offer the tantalizing possibility of eliminating posterior capsule opacification (PCO). While a posterior capsulotomy can be created manually, the procedure is technically difficult and may create greater risks for the patient than the PCO it seeks to prevent. Read more »
February | European Ophthalmologists See Promise in Trifocal IOLs
Ophthalmic surgeons and a growing body of peer-reviewed clinical research papers are reporting good clinical outcomes and high patient satisfaction with the two types of trifocal intraocular lenses commercially available to international ophthalmologists. Read more »
January | Femtosecond Laser Astigmatic Correction
Femtosecond laser-enabled intrastromal relaxing incisions are emerging as an important tool for correcting residual corneal astigmatism, which can compromise refractive outcomes following cataract surgery and lead to patient disappointment, particularly when a multifocal IOL has been implanted. Read more »
December | The Changing Face of LASIK Candidacy
LASIK candidacy has changed dramatically over the years and continues to be refined as new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies adjust the risk-benefit ratio. Read more »
October/November | Ethics of Femtosecond Laser Cataract Surgery
How confident can surgeons be that they are offering patients a procedure that is better or safer than phacoemulsification-based surgery? What should they tell patients? And how should economics figure into the choices that surgeon and patient make? Read more »
August/September | Refractive Lens Exchange: A Procedure Whose Time Has Come?
Refractive lens exchange (RLE), the practice of correcting refractive error by removing a “clear” crystalline lens and implanting an IOL, was made possible by the convergence of improving surgical techniques and advancing intraocular lens (IOL) technology. The opinion of ophthalmologists on RLE is mixed. While many are guarded, others have embraced it enthusiastically. Read more »
July | WaveTec to Take Intraoperative Aberrometry International
Intraoperative wavefront aberrometry, a refractive cataract surgery tool that has stayed largely within the United States for several years, will be taking on a higher international profile this year. Read more »
June | Surface Ablation: Closing the Pain Gap with LASIK
While LASIK offers faster visual recovery with less pain than PRK, improved technology and better pain management have narrowed the gap between the two procedures. Read more »
May | It’s Back: Reconsidering Ortho-K
Following the publication of a long-term, randomized, controlled clinical trial showing orthokeratology slows the progression of childhood myopia, some ophthalmologists are taking a second look. They say the contact lens-based refractive intervention may become a practice builder in the long-run. That is, if past skepticism of orthokeratology, also known as ortho-k, can be overcome. Read more »
April | Managing Dysphotopsia in Multifocal IOL Patients
There are three types of post-cataract surgery dysphotopsia: positive dysphotopsia, in which patients experience bright arcs, rings, halos or streaks of light in the visual field; negative dysphotopsia, in which patients perceive an arc of darkness in the temporal region; and a third type—limited to patients with multifocal IOLs—that causes patients to experience split images and halos or rings around lights. Read more »
March | Back to the Future: Centering on the Corneal Vertex
In the early days of keratorefractive surgery, Pande and Hillman proposed that corneal surgeries should be centered on the spot where the visual axis meets the corneal plane — the corneal vertex — instead of on the pupil’s geometric center. They identified the coaxially sighted corneal light reflex as the visible landmark that best approximates the vertex’s location. In the two decades since that seminal paper, a smattering of studies have quietly added evidence supporting vertex centration. But this research has failed to dislodge the pupil center as the predominant centration point for excimer laser ablations. Read more »
February | Removing Epithelial Ingrowth: Laser vs. Glue
In a study that reviewed all LASIK procedures performed by a single U.S. surgeon over a 3.5-year period, there were no cases of visually significant epithelial ingrowth in 3,866 primary LASIK procedures. There were, however, 15 cases of epithelial ingrowth (2.3 percent) in the 646 flap-lift retreatments he performed.1 A study conducted in Turkey in which all flaps were created with a femtosecond laser reported just two eyes with clinically significant epithelial ingrowth in 6,415 primary procedures.2 But of the 108 eyes in that group that underwent relift for enhancement, two eyes (2 percent) experienced clinically significant epithelial ingrowth. Read more »
January | New Dry Eye Technology Could Improve Refractive Outcomes
One of the most important steps a refractive surgeon can take to improve visual outcomes is to find and treat every undiagnosed case of dry eye, blepharitis and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) among prospective patients. This interest in dry eye detection has led some surgeons to adopt new diagnostic tools and innovative treatments. Read more »