CONTACT LENSES TODAY
January 15, 2006
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches more
than 12,000 readers in 74 countries.
New Toric Progressive to Debut at SECO
PolyVue’s new HDX toric progressive will be introduced at next month’s SECO meeting. The latest addition to the company’s High Definition
family of presbyopic lenses is a fully molded, planned-replacement toric progressive lens. The design incorporates progressive optics with a toric back surface that’s
stabilized with a prism ballast. It also features the company’s patented aberration-control optics. The HDX toric progressive will initially be available to practitioners
currently fitting the HDX progressive.
Two Eyecare Companies Best Places to Work
Vision Service Plan (VSP) and Alcon Inc. have both made
Fortune’s annual list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For,” in 2006. VSP ranked
number seven on the list, up from ten last year; Alcon came in at 32, moving up from 42 in 2005. Neither company is new
to the list; 2006 marks VSP’s seventh year and Alcon’s
eighth. The rankings are based primarily on anonymous employee responses to a survey that measures factors such as job satisfaction and camaraderie, combined with an
evaluation of the companies’ policies and culture. The complete list will appear in the January 23rd issue of
Fortune.
The Next Generation of Silicone Hydrogels
The latest advance in the ULTRA COMFORT SERIES™ offers comfort, vision and health to contact lens wearers. ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses with
HYDRACLEAR™ Plus are made from a new lens material, senofilcon A, a proprietary formulation including a remarkable moisture-rich wetting agent with no surface
coating. ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses have excellent oxygen transmissibility, high volume of wetting agent and a smooth surface. This breakthrough
material creates a lens so moist and smooth that an eyelid glides effortlessly over it. Prescribing a lens that offers patients comfort in dry environments that can
make eyes feel tired and dry will keep them from dropping out of lens wear and increase patient satisfaction.
--ADVERTISING
Abstract:
Back-surface Contact Lenses After PK
Researchers in Halle, Germany recently investigated whether contact lenses with a special back-surface design can improve visual
acuity in complex cases after penetrating keratoplasty (PK). They fit 28 eyes with high or irregular astigmatism in contact lenses with a special back surface designed
for optical rehabilitation following PK. Four different lens designs were used selectively depending on abnormal eccentricity. Investigators measured lens tolerance
and corrected visual acuity for an average follow-up period of 15.5 months.
Visual acuity improved in nearly all eyes with an average increase of 3.6 lines.
Researchers observed good tolerance, satisfactory fit and no noticeable complications. They conclude that contact lenses with a special back surface design can improve
visual results and lens tolerance as well as minimize fitting problems. They further state the results are favorable for contact lenses as an alternative to surgical
procedures for correcting high or irregular astigmatism after PK. Finally, they especially recommend this approach for patients who decline further operative
interventions.
Gruenauer-Kloevekorn C, Kloevekorn-Fischer U, Duncker GI. Contact lenses and special back surface design after penetrating keratoplasty to improve
contact lens fit and visual outcome. Br J Opthalmol. 2005 Dec;89(12):1601-8.
Editor's Commentary:
Solution Advise from CLES
Mike Ward, M.S., F.S.C.L.A., presented an important lecture at our lunch-time seminar today at the Contact Lens and Eyecare Symposium (CLES)
in Orlando. Private label solutions, over 30% of the multipurpose lens care market at present, are obsolete. Certainly they have never been tested with modern contact lens
materials such as silicone hydrogels. The most recently introduced solutions should be the ones we recommend strongly to our patients. And, make sure to tell your patients
to stick with what you recommend and not switch. The savings they will obtain
(pennies per day) from using these cheaper solutions are not worth it. The
solutions are likely to be incompatible with their lenses and bother their eyes.
Take every opportunity to communicate this to your patients — in the office,
your newsletter, phone conversations, recall notices, and web site.
Fitting Tip:
Fitting Borderline Astigmats
For patients who have borderline astigmatism in each eye, explain the benefits of each modality along with the various prices. For those
who balk at the cost of toric lenses, I have found that a great compromise is to recommend a toric in one eye and a non-toric in the other. After a trial frame or phoropter
demonstration of the improvement in vision with the cylinder, dispense a pair of take-home, disposal, trial lenses. At the one-week follow-up visit, you and the patient can decide
together whether to order annual replacement or non-yearly contacts for the long-term.
Gary Roth, O.D.
Jerusalem
This month at http://www.siliconehydrogels.org, track worldwide trends in silicone hydrogel fitting; examine the dynamic
mechanical properties, dynamic wettability and frictional properties of these lenses; read up on successful clinical strategies for maintaining patients‚ comfort and
ocular health with extended wear; and review new developments and information that came to light in 2005.
Report adverse contact lens reactions here: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/ or call
(800) FDA-1088.
Access a reporting form for complications you've seen that were a result of contact lenses dispensed without a valid prescription
at the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry's (ARBO's) Web
site: http://www.arbo.org/arbo.asp?dt=R&doc=Complications. Complete and send the form online or print it
out and fax it to (866) 886-6164.
Send your favorite tips to tips@cltoday.com -- if your tip is selected
as 'Best of the Month,' you'll receive a free
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