EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
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March 2013 Treatment group the tear film," he said. "Don't forget about the tear film and don't forget that omega-3 is part of our routine management of tear film." EW Control group PRK patients receiving omega-3 healed significantly faster than those in the control group. Source (all): Nikki Heidi Ong, M.D. test was repeated daily until the defect healed. When investigators here tracked the healing rate, they determined that this was faster in eyes that received the omega-3 than the placebo, Dr. Schanzlin said. Those who received the omega-3 had an average healing rate of 1.19% versus 0.83% for controls. "The treatment eyes all healed before day four compared to the other group where everyone healed by day six," Dr. Schanzlin said. "We got eyes to heal a day sooner on average." In addition, the treatment group had a significantly longer tear film breakup time compared to the controls, a benefit that was maintained through the three-month mark. When it came to the ultimate visual acuity, this was also better in the treated group. One month after surgery all Making continued from page 119 4. Kaufman HE. Adenovirus advances: new diagnostic and therapeutic options. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2011;22:290-293. Editors' note: Dr. Mah is in private practice, La Hoya, Calif. He has no financial interests related to this article. Contact information Mah: Mah.Francis@Scrippshealth.org of those taking omega-3 had attained 20/20 acuity versus just four of the control patients. Dr. Schanzlin found the results surprising—an impression echoed by others in the field. "When I tell my colleagues about this they all say that can't be, there's no way that makes a difference," he said. "But when you think about it, the omega3 helps with tear status, provides a more stable tear, and decreases inflammation." Less inflammation allows epithelial cells to divide faster and cover the surface more rapidly, he explained. "The most basic take-home message is that the tear film of the eye is important in any refractive surgery and certainly in the postop outcome," Dr. Schanzlin said. "This showed us that healthy tear film is important even during the healing phase." He pointed out that practitioners routinely have patients use steroid drops and antibiotics four times daily for surgery. "We use omega-3 frequently in the practice to control inflammation and to stimulate normal tear function, so it was logical to extend it to the PRK group," Dr. Schanzlin said. Overall, he urges practitioners to place patients on omega-3 for any laser refractive surgery. "It stabilizes EW CORNEA 121 Editors' note: Dr. Schanzlin has no financial interests related to this article. Contact information Schanzlin: 858-455-6800, Dschanz123@aol.com