CONTACT LENSES TODAY
January 29, 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 Hydrogel Len Material
Hydrogel Vision Corp. introduces the Extreme H2O 54% lens. It’s made of hioxifilcon D, a material produced with a new GMA-HEMA copolymer formulation that contains 54% water. The company says the lens retains 97% of its original water content during wear. It’s currently available in a spherical design with a 13.6mm diameter, in powers from +6.00D to -12.00D and from -6.50D to -12.00D in 0.50D steps. Free diagnostic fitting sets are available from the manufacturer.
Passing of Industry Veteran
Ralph Rosenthal, M.D., the Division Director of the FDA’s Ophthalmic and Ear Nose and Throat Device Panels from 1996 to 2005, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 12th. Dr. Rosenthal was a graduate of Johns Hopkins Medical School and interned at Boston City Hospital on the Harvard Medical Service. He served as Assistant Chief of Service at Wilmer Eye Institute before entering the U.S. Army, where he was stationed at Walter Reed Institute of Research from 1969-1972. He also served as Chief of Ophthalmology at Stanford before moving to the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Dr. Rosenthal will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, Feb. 13th at 11:00am with a reception at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., to follow at 12:30pm.
CLES 2006 A Success
More than one thousand people, including over 500 eyecare professionals attended this year’s Contact Lens and Eyecare Symposium (CLES), which took place from Jan. 11th to 15th at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, Fla. CLES education partners the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists (CLAO), the American Optometric Association (AOA), and the Contact Lens Society of America (CLSA) developed and presented more than 80 hours of accredited CE courses. Highlights included Brien Holden, Ph.D.’s presentation of new clinical research that readdresses the cause — and potential treatment of — myopia.
CLES is sponsored by the Contact Lens Institute (CLI). Its members include Advanced Medical Optics (AMO), Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, CIBA Vision and Vistakon.
Feeling Less Is Worth More.
The senofilcon A material of ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR™ Plus balances properties to meet the demands of contact lens wearers in environments where eyes feel tired and dry. Its exceptional wettability is similar to that of traditional mid-water hydrogels. ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses are the smoothest silicone hydrogel lenses, with approximately 5 times less friction than PureVision™, and approximately 15 times less friction than Night & Day™. With an average of 11,000 blinks per day, patients will benefit from a smooth lens, and your practice will benefit by offering a lens that increases patient satisfaction.
Night & Day™ is a registered trademark of CIBA Vision. PureVision™ is a registered trademark of Bausch & Lomb.
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Open Registration for BCLA 2006
Registration for the 30th British Contact Lens Association’s (BCLA) Clinical Conference and Exhibition is now open. The meeting will take place from May 19th to 21st at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. Discounts are available for those who register before March 3rd and those who register online. Go to www.bcla.org.uk.
Abstract:
Infectious Keratitis in an Ortho-K Patient
Doctors from the Department of Ophthalmology at the Taiwan National Health Research Institutes report the case of a patient who developed a corneal ulcer while undergoing daytime orthokeratology treatment. A 16-year-old girl presented with a corneal ulcer in her right eye with a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/40. Central topography showed the temporal upper dislocation of a central flattened zone. She had worn ortho-k lenses during the day for more than four years.
The patient’s
ulcer worsened after treatment with tobramycin and gentamicin for one day.
Ciprofloxacin resolved the ulcer and visual acuity returned to 20/20 with
spectacle correction. Cultures of the cornea, contact lens and solution grew
Burkholderia cepacia, Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas
aeruginosa .
The authors conclude that an improper fit and contamination of lenses or solutions in ortho-k therapy are risk factors for the development of a corneal ulcer, even when lenses are only worn during the day.
Ying-Cheng L, Chao-Kung L, Ko-Hua C, Wen-Ming H. Daytime orthokeratology associated with infectious keratitis by multiple gram-negative bacilli: Burkholderia cepacia, Pseudomonas putida, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Eye Contact Lens. 2006 Jan;32(1):19-20.
Editor's Commentary:
Practitioner Safety
We recently had a reader comment on a tip suggesting you give your phone numbers to your patients. Certainly all of our patients need to have access to urgent care and I know the doctor who responds below provides this. I thought it best that you hear the other side. I appreciate Dr. Fries-Balog's reply and as always, we appreciate reader comments.
Dear CLToday : In response to Dr. Schrier’s tip in the January 22, 2006 issue of CLToday, it’s not necessarily that younger O.D.s find his suggestion beneath their dignity, but that there are many areas of this country where that would be tantamount to suicide. Many doctors work in high crime areas, and there are now a very large number of female optometrists to whom the suggestion invites thoughts of stalkers. And there are thieves who might use information like a home phone number to access your records and steal your identity. Unfortunately, the world we live in is not so safe. As a female optometrist who does fill-in work for other doctors, I am sometimes worried about even leaving an office alone, after dark in some neighborhoods. Pager numbers and answering services can provide the after-hours contact that Dr. Schrier suggests, while maintaining the anonymity some of us feel is necessary for safety in this world.
Diane G. Fries-Balog, O.D.
Montgomery County and surrounding areas, Pa.
Fitting Tip:
Help New CL Patients Focus
When most new contact lens patients are undergoing insertion instruction, their eyes reflexively "flick-up" (Bell's reflex) and the lens "misses" the cornea. I have found that instructing the patient to focus on the reflection of the fingernail of the forefinger on which the lens is placed (as they look in the mirror) solves this problem.
Susan Resnick, O.D., F.A.A.O.
New York
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 golf shirt (see http://www.CLToday.com for details). Please include your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.
Visit Contact Lens Spectrum ( http://www.clspectrum.com ) for interactive clinical posters and issue archives. Visit Contact Lenses Today for our Best Fitting Tips.
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