June 9, 2002
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 8,505 readers in 74 countries.
First, anyone who purposely misleads a patient about the safety, efficacy or performance expectations of any product or procedure is clearly violating accepted standards of care.
Second, Dr. Saks is correct that one reason patients opt for refractive surgery is to avoid the hassles of contact lens care. However, our research suggests that some more important reasons include: contact lens discomfort due to dry eye; an aversion to surgery; or patients who are too young. For these people, overnight contact lens corneal reshaping may be a better option.
Third, Paragon’s CRT product and system has been shown to be safe and effective. I think that once Dr. Saks reviews the clinical data assembled by some of the most respected institutions and practitioners, he may take a different view.
And, finally, the name challenge. Paragon chose CRT because consumer and practitioner research supported its use. The term was more descriptive for consumers, and it reinforced the ongoing need for professional eye care by the use of the word “therapy.” For practitioners, CRT has stimulated important discussions regarding today’s science and technology as compared to the technology that existed when the term orthokeratology was introduced.
--Joe Sicari, President & CEO, Paragon Vision Sciences, Inc.