This past week while looking at the headlines online, I noticed that safety and contact lens wear were in the news again. In particular, there was a story entitled, "Sleeping with contact lenses can turn you blind," and it was essentially a story about a girl who abused her contact lenses in terms of improper lens wear and care who ended up with microbial keratitis. While we all know this can happen, the title surprised me, particularly given the very low probability of actually going blind from such a complication (or even losing two lines of visual acuity). However, some would argue that such strong messaging is an important part of communicating to patients. It is something that we all need to think about.

CooperVision initiated a voluntary recall on limited lots of Avaira Toric contact lenses. This recall is limited solely to specific lots of Avaira Toric, and no other CooperVision product is involved in this recall. The recall was initiated because of the unintended presence of a residue on certain lenses. The residue was identified after investigating a small number of complaints of temporary hazy vision. The company said the manufacturing issue has been identified and a resolution is in process.

CooperVision said it expected shipments of Avaira to resume shortly and inventory to return to normal levels by Dec. 1. Wearers are advised to visit coopervision.com for more information about the specific lot numbers.

The 15th annual EastWest Eye Conference will be held Oct. 20-23 at the Cleveland Convention Center. Sponsored by the Ohio Optometric Association, EastWest offers more than 175 hours of continuing education for optometrists, in addition to education for opticians and allied eye professionals.

This year's contact lens track includes speakers from private practice, academia, and research, including Dr. Jason Nichols, editor of Contact Lenses Today and Contact Lens Spectrum, who will give an update on the contact lens industry as well as lecture on controversies in contact lens care.

EastWest registration includes admittance to the Friday Night Party at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with entertainment by Bad Habits. The exhibit hall takes place in the historic Public Hall Auditorium with 100 vendors participating.

Major sponsorship for EastWest is provided by Alcon, Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Ciba Vision, CooperVision, Diversified Ophthalmics, Hoya Vision Care, Ista Pharmaceuticals, Marco, Select Optical, SynergEyes, Transitions Optical, and Vistakon. For more information or to register visit www.eastwesteye.org.

Peg Achenbach, OD, FAAO is the new Chief Medical and Academic Strategist for Professional Services, Vision Care at Contamac US. Dr. Achenbach will oversee the development of Contamac's comprehensive continuing education programs with strategic focus in the specialty contact lens arena.

Most recently, Dr. Achenbach was the Senior Director, Professional and Medical Affairs for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Vistakon. Dr. Achenbach also served as Vice President of Medical Operations for SDR Pharmaceuticals, a company she co-founded.

Dr. Achenbach is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is a member of the American Optometric Association as well as the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

August 31, 2011 is the deadline for submission of papers and posters for the Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS), to be held January 26 - 29, 2012 at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Papers and abstracts related to presbyopia, keratoconus, corneal topography, post penetrating keratoplasty or related irregular corneal surface, myopia control, orthokeratology and lens care topics are welcome.

New this year is the photo contest. Contestants may submit up to two (2) photographic images in the following anterior segment categories: Contact Lens, Lids, and Cornea/Conjunctiva. Contestants may also submit images obtained utilizing equipment such as OCT, topographers, etc.

Visit www.GSLSymposium.com for more information. Web submissions only.
--ADVERTISING

The Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research will host its annual Eye Ball Gala on Oct. 15 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The gala will benefit the Lions Eye Institute, which is fighting against blinding eye diseases by uniting the world's largest Eye Bank, Ocular Research Center, and Foundation to create the institution for ocular science.

The Gala will begin at 7 p.m. with inspirational stories and speakers, followed by dinner and dancing. The Eye Ball brings together ophthalmic specialists and surgeons, business and community leaders, and friends to help foster the sight-saving and life-enhancing work of the Lions Eye Institute.

For ticket information and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.lionseyeinstitute.org or call (813) 289-1200.

Menicon America Inc. launched a new website for eyecare practitioners and consumers.

The site promotes the introduction of Menicon's GP lens care system, which brings together Menicon Unique pH, Menicon Progent, and Menicon Rewetting Drops. This system is being marketed and sold through an e-commerce model designed specifically for practitioners and their patients.

For more information, visit www.meniconamerica.com.

^ Back to top

Even if You're Not Attending, AAO Meeting Provides Useful Information

It's that time of the year again; time to make plans to attend the American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting. This year's meeting will take place Oct. 12-15 in Boston. One of the reasons I enjoy this conference so much is that it provides such a strong combination of clinical and scientific education. The latter includes basic science research, case reports, and everything in between.

Several weeks in advance, the Academy meeting posts its presentations online. Whether attending the conference or not, perusing the continuing education outlines and scientific program abstracts can provide a valuable learning experience. They not only give us cutting-edge information on how to best manage our patients now, but they also—through the scientific program—give us a glimpse into what to expect in the future.

This year's abstracts illustrate that contact lens care is still a hot topic for education and research. There is one continuing education lecture and at least 13 scientific presentations dedicated to this category alone. You can access the information via the Archives tab at http://www.aaopt.org.

Use Your Staff to Reduce the Wait

When is the last time you really waited in line for something? It is easy to forget what an exercise in patience it can be. For example, my most recent "line" experience was standing in the 90+ degree temperature (9 a.m.) waiting to get into the door to apply for a driver's license. It made me more sympathetic for our patients sitting in our waiting rooms, but at least they have a nice chair and air conditioning. The frustration can be the same though, especially as the minutes tick past the appointed examination time.

If you are new to dry eye management, or a dry eye expert, chair time for dry eye can be an issue. A tip to ease this burden is to keep the patient moving. We often do this in a routine eye exam via pre-testing and selecting glasses, but have you incorporated this concept into a medically oriented dry eye examination? The key is to train your staff to pre-identify dry eye patients, for example by age, gender, and symptoms and to perform tests, such as symptom surveys and osmolarity, before you ever see the patient. When you step into the exam room, you can devote your valuable time to a few tests and more time explaining treatment options—what the patient came to hear.

The authors attempted to establish an association between prolonged hard and soft contact lens wear and ptosis. The study was designed in a single-center, retrospective consecutive series. The participants were all patients between 18 and 50 years old who were diagnosed with unilateral or bilateral ptosis between January 2002 and December 2005 (35 patients). Patients with congenital ptosis, ophthalmic surgery or disease, trauma, giant papillary conjunctivitis, unknown duration of contact lens wear, or muscular or neurologic disorders were excluded. The authors compared this study group to a Dutch reference population (the total underlying population from which the ptosis cases derive).

The group included 35 patients: 20 (57 percent) (ages 18 to 50 years, average 37 years) had been wearing hard contact lenses for, on average, 17.6 years (range 6 to 27 years); 9 (26 percent) (ages 18 to 45 years, average 30 years) had been wearing soft contact lenses for, on average, 9 years (range 1.5 to 20 years); and 6 (17 percent) (ages 23 to 39 years, average 33 years) had no history of contact lens wear. The odds ratio for soft contact lenses was 14.7 (4.2 to 50.7; CI = 95) and for hard contact lenses 97.8 (22.5 to 424).

Researchers said the study suggests that not only hard contact lens wear but also soft contact lens wear may be associated with ptosis.

Bleyen I, Hiemstra CA, Devogelaere T, van den Bosch WA, Wubbels RJ, Paridaens DA. Not only hard contact lens wear but also soft contact lens wear may be associated with blepharoptosis. Canadian journal of ophthalmology Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie. 2011 Aug;46(4):333-6.

^ Back to top