CONTACT LENSES TODAY

May 5, 2002

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 8,383 readers in 74 countries.

CK for Hyperopia: FDA Guidelines
Refractec’s ViewPoint CK System is designed to treat previously untreated hyperopia through radiofrequency energy conductive keratoplasty (CK). According to the FDA, the procedure is indicated for the temporary reduction of spherical hyperopia in patients who are 40 years of age or older and have:
• 0.75D to 3.25D of cycloplegic spherical hyperopia
• Less than or equal to 0.75D of refractive astigmatism (minus cylinder format) and
• Documented, stable refraction for the prior 12 months.
The magnitude of correction with CK diminishes over time, with some patients retaining some or all of their intended refractive correction.

Tennis Pros Choose Official Contact Lens
The United States Professional Tennis Association has named ProSoft its official contact lens. According to manufacturer CIBA Vision, ProSoft features a teal tint that mutes all background colors except optic yellow, the color of most tennis balls.

WITH THE BIOMEDICS™ TORIC LENS, it's Location, Location, Location. The Biomedics Toric lens locates accurately on axis over 90% of the time. Our proprietary uniform horizontal iso-thickness and unique smooth, balanced ballast design ensure the Biomedics Toric locates on axis accurately and consistently throughout the day. Astigmatic patients can experience the high level of comfort and visual acuity that Biomedics 55 wearers enjoy. For more information, contact your account executive at 1-800-972-6724.
(For more information: http://www.ocularsciences.com) --ADVERTISING

B&L Profits Up in First Quarter
Bausch & Lomb ended the first quarter with earnings of $8.8 million. Contact lens revenues increased 8%, with newer lenses like PureVision and SofLens66 Toric outpacing older lenses. Lens care revenues rose 3%.

Hard Water Promotes Infection
Contact lens wearers in southern England are nine times more likely to develop acanthamoeba keratitis, according to a study in the May issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Researchers believe the infection is a result of the region's hard tap water and wearers swimming or showering in their lenses without properly cleaning them. The lenses that carried the greatest risk were 30-day wear soft disposables.

Haggling for Health Care?
Rising out-of-pocket costs for medical care may trigger a new trend: Consumers who try to negotiate lower prices from their healthcare providers. In fact, according to a recent poll taken by Harris Interactive, 13% of consumers have asked their doctors for a discount in the last 12 months. The AMA suggests that the doctors who are seeing this trend at work now are those who’ve already converted to all-cash practices.

Editor's Commentary: Mail-Order Lenses and Safety
This month’s Forbes magazine has an article on tort reform and big payoffs for lawsuits. It seems inevitable that some attorney will find a poor, helpless, noncompliant, mail- or Internet-order contact lens patient with vision loss from a corneal ulcer who was properly cared for by his practitioner. Once this attorney gets a big payout from the mail-order lens company, then the FTC and state boards may consider the public health risk of contact lens order filling without a valid Rx. Until then, they will live in the bliss of ignorance, assuming the practice of illegal order filling is safe.

Fitting Tip: “Bandage Lens” Option
Recently, we saw a patient who had a large, painful abrasion from removing his contact lens. He came in wearing a homemade patch. First of all, don’t pressure patch a contact lens injury! We prescribed fluoroquinolone drops once an hour, NSAID drops q.i.d. and a silicone hydrogel (SH) lens as a bandage. We instructed the patient not to sleep with the lens on. When we saw him the next morning, he had improved greatly. He said the lens made his eye more comfortable. We kept him on q.i.d. fluoroquinolone drops for 2 more days, and he continued to wear the SH lens. A few days later, he went back to his original lenses (fresh new ones). SH lenses are not FDA-approved as bandage lenses, but many practitioners are using them as such. --The Editor

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