Dropless cataract surgery: modernizing perioperative medical therapy to improve outcomes and patient satisfaction.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Advances in pharmacology offer freedom from topical medical therapy without compromise of anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial coverage in the perioperative period. In this review, we describe the basis for dropless cataract surgery with the goal of improving outcomes and the patient experience. RECENT FINDINGS: Phacoemulsification outcomes depend largely on surgeon skill but also on adherence to a complex multidrug regimen of perioperative anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial therapy to prevent sight-threatening complications such as cystoid macular edema or endophthalmitis. Successful administration of this regimen can be limited by noncompliance, difficulty administering eye drops, bioavailability, and side effects, among others. The recent development of sustained-release formulations of dexamethasone - one an intracanalicular insert and the other an intraocular suspension - can provide sustained tapering doses of dexamethasone while reducing or eliminating the need for anti-inflammatory eye drop therapy. Similarly, mounting evidence compellingly demonstrates that intracameral antibiotic use intraoperatively is at least as effective as topical antibiotics in preventing endophthalmitis. SUMMARY: Sustained-release dexamethasone coupled with intracameral antibiotics at the time of phacoemulsification can provide antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory prophylaxis without the need for topical eye drop medications. This approach has the potential to improve compliance with therapy, visual acuity outcomes, and the overall patient experience.

Transverse vs torsional ultrasound: prospective randomized contralaterally controlled study comparing two phacoemulsification-system handpieces.

PURPOSE: To compare surgical efficiency and multiple early clinical outcome variables in eyes undergoing phacoemulsification using either transversal or torsional ultrasound systems. SETTING: Assil Eye Institute, Beverly Hills, CA, USA. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, clinician-masked, contralaterally controlled single-center evaluation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients seeking cataract removal in both eyes with implantation of multifocal intraocular lenses were randomly assigned to one of two treatment rooms for phacoemulsification with either a transverse ultrasound system or torsional handpiece system. The contralateral eye was treated at a later date with the alternate device. A total of 54 eyes of 27 patients having similar degrees of cataract, astigmatism, and visual potential were included. All operative data were collected for analysis, and patients were followed for 3 months after surgery. RESULTS: Similar visual acuity was reported at all postoperative visits between the two groups. Mean phacoemulsification time and total power required were both significantly lower with the transverse system than with the torsional technique (P<0.05 for both). Similarly, mean total balanced salt solution used was significantly less with the transverse system vs torsional (P<0.05). Postoperative safety demonstrated significantly lower endothelial cell loss at 1 day and 1 month (P<0.05) with transverse vs torsional. Macular swelling was less at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months with transverse vs torsional, although the difference did not achieve significance (P=0.1) at any single time point. Clinically detectable corneal edema was reported less frequently at all postoperative time points with the transverse system. CONCLUSION: The transverse ultrasound system was found to be possibly associated with less balanced salt-solution use, less phacoemulsification time, and less power required than the torsional phaco system. Postoperative data suggested that improved phaco efficiency may translate to a better overall safety profile for the patient.

Photopic pupillometry-guided laser in situ keratomileusis for hyperopic presbyopia.

PURPOSE: To evaluate a method of surgically treating presbyopia in hyperopic patients having laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) by selecting excimer ablation optical zone diameters based on the photopic pupil. SETTING: Private practice, Beverly Hills, California, USA. METHODS: This prospective analysis comprised 46 patients having hyperopic LASIK for presbyopia. The distance-dominant eye was treated with a standard 6.0 mm optical and 9.0 mm outer zone for full distance correction with no nomogram adjustment from the final preoperative manifest refraction. In the nondominant eye, an algorithm was used to select the optical and blend zone diameters and the optical zone size-dependent programmed amount of correction augmentation. Variables evaluated at the 6-month postoperative visit included preoperative and postoperative manifest refractive spherical equivalent (MRSE), refractive cylinder, and monocular and binocular near and distance uncorrected visual acuities. Patient satisfaction and spectacle dependence were also evaluated. RESULTS: In the near-corrected eye, the mean preoperative and postoperative MRSE was +1.10 diopters (D) +/- 1.20 (SD) and -1.30 +/- 0.56 D, respectively, and the mean refractive cylinder, -0.76 +/- 0.91 D and -0.36 +/- 0.33 D, respectively (P<.05). The mean uncorrected near acuity in the near-corrected eye was J10 preoperatively and J1 postoperatively (P<.0001) and the binocular mean uncorrected near acuity, J10 and J1, respectively (P<.0001). The mean uncorrected logMAR distance acuity in the near-corrected eye was +0.38 +/- 0.31 (20/50) preoperatively and +0.36 +/- 0.25 (20/50) postoperatively (P>.05). The mean binocular uncorrected logMAR distance acuity was +0.30 +/- 0.30 (20/40) and +0.01 +/- 0.08 (20/20) (P<.0001), respectively. The mean overall patient satisfaction score was 8.8 (scale 1 to 10). After LASIK, no patient reported using spectacles full time for near or distance and 15% reported part-time use. CONCLUSION: Photopic pupillometry-guided LASIK may be an effective option when considering surgical treatment of presbyopia in hyperopic patients.

Three-year results of Artisan/Verisyse phakic intraocular lens implantation. Results of the United States Food And Drug Administration clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of the Artisan/Verisyse phakic intraocular lens (IOL) for the correction of high myopia. DESIGN: Prospective, open-label, noncomparative, multicenter clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 684 adults with axial myopia from -4.5 diopters (D) to -22 D were enrolled: 662 in the primary analysis group and 22 under compassionate use protocol expansion. Efficacy data are based on the 662 first eyes implanted. INTERVENTION: Implantation of the Artisan/Verisyse phakic intraocular lens. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Efficacy measures included uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCVA), refractive predictability and stability, patient satisfaction, and contrast sensitivity. Safety measures were best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), intraocular pressure, slit-lamp observations, endothelial cell density (ECD), complications, and adverse events. RESULTS: At 3 years, UCVAs for first eyes were 20/40 or better in 84.0% (194/231) and 20/25 or better in 51.9% (120/231). Of first eyes, 71.7% to 76.7% were within 0.50 D of target refraction and 93.1% to 95.0% were within 1.0 D at 6 months and later. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better for 99% to 100% of first eyes from the 1-month visit through 3 years. At 3 years, 54% of first eyes gained >/=1 lines of BSCVA, and 7.5% lost >/=1 lines of BSCVA. The mean change in ECD from baseline to 3 years was -4.8%+/-7.8%, with a 2.4% loss between 2 and 3 years. One site had a mean cell loss of -5.0% (P = 0.023), and the others combined had a mean cell loss of 1.7%+/-5.4%. For a cohort of 57 eyes with ECD data for all visits, the mean change from baseline was -3.8%+/-9.8% over 3 years. Approximately half (31/59) of the adverse events and preventative repositionings were among the first 10 cases performed by each investigator. CONCLUSIONS: The Artisan/Verisyse phakic IOL provides excellent refractive outcomes; endothelial cell loss within a mean of 5.0% over 3 years, or 1.8% per year; and few complications.

Verisyse intraocular lens implantation in a child with anisometropic amblyopia: four-year follow-up.

A Verisyse phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) (AMO) was implanted in the eye of a 3-year-old child with unilateral high myopia and suspected dense amblyopia. Four years postoperatively, the Snellen visual acuity was 20/30 with a refraction of -1.00 -1.00 x 77 and the endothelial cell density was 3262 cells/mm(2) compared with 3092 cells/mm(2) in the right eye. The Verisyse pIOL may be a treatment option to prevent dense amblyopia in children with highly myopic anisometropia.

Temporal hinge laser in situ keratomileusis: maximizing treatable stromal bed area.

PURPOSE: To compare the treatable stromal bed area created by a temporal versus superior hinge laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flap. SETTING: Assil Sinskey Eye Institute, Santa Monica, California, USA. METHODS: A randomized retrospective case review was performed of 2 subgroups (each with 12 eyes) of a cohort having LASIK for the correction of hyperopic astigmatism between August 2001 and March 2002. In 1 group, superior hinge LASIK was performed using the standard surgical technique for the 9.5 mm Hansatome suction ring. In the other group, the keratome was rotated 90 degrees such that a temporal hinge LASIK was performed with the 9.5 mm Hansatome suction ring. Corneal curvature (central mean keratometric value), flap diameter (arc length), and treatable stromal bed area were measured in each eye, and mean values were compared between the 2 groups. A treatable stromal bed area was defined as the circle centered over the entrance pupil, tangent to the hinge (devoid of hinge interference). RESULTS: The mean keratometry and mean flap diameter in the superior and temporal hinge groups measured 42.3 diopters (D) and 9.68 mm and 42.2 D and 9.69 mm, respectively. These differences were not significant (P=.882 for average keratometry and P=.943 for flap diameter). The mean treatable stromal bed area in the superior versus temporal hinge group measured 44.14 mm(2) and 62.25 mm(2), respectively. The difference between the 2 groups was highly significant (P<.0001). CONCLUSIONS: A large diameter, temporal hinge LASIK flap yielded a significantly greater area of treatable corneal stromal bed than a superior hinge flap. There are several clinical and theoretical advantages of optimizing stromal bed exposure for any given flap diameter.