Eyeworld

SUMMER 2024 | EYEWORLD | 55 C I WISH I HAD … by Liz Hillman Editorial Co-Director About the physicians Victor Perez, MD Professor of Ophthalmology Director of Cornea Research Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Miami, Florida Stephen Pflugfelder, MD James and Margaret Elkins Endowed Chair Director of the Ocular Surface Center Cullen Eye Institute Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas Alfonso Sabater, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology Medical Director of the Ocular Surface Program Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Miami, Florida W ho are the best patients? What are the outcomes like? What's in store for the future? Victor Perez, MD, Stephen Pflugfelder, MD, and Alfonso Sabater, MD, PhD, answered these questions and more as they pertain to platelet-derived ocular surface therapies, giving insights on what they wish ophthalmologists knew about these products. EyeWorld: When do you think a platelet- derived product is suitable for a patient with dry eye or ocular surface disease? Dr. Perez: It used to be reserved for more severe cases of ocular surface disease, but now we treat even mild patients. At the beginning, it was patients who had a non-healing ocular surface/cornea problem—that was the first indi- cation. Then it was patients with severe dry eye, pemphigoid, graft vs. host disease, Sjogren's, where the cornea was really eroded. That's the type of patient we call severe. It worked very well for those patients. Now patients who have symptoms of corne- al staining that is more advanced … those are candidates for plasma therapy. We have patients with more mild disease, who may have a little corneal erosion, some who have symptoms, we're starting to use this with these patients. It's my go-to line of therapy for patients who have ocular pain, ocular sensitivity as well. Dr. Pflugfelder: I reserve it for moderate to severe dry eye patients who haven't responded to conventional therapy or aqueous deficient patients with severe corneal epithelial disease. 1 It can also be effective for keratoneuralgia. 2 Dr. Sabater: I think platelet-derived products are a good option for patients with moderate or severe dry eye disease who do not respond to artificial tears or the current FDA-ap- proved dry eye therapies. Additionally, it is a great option for patients with dry eye disease associated with early stage neurotrophic kerati- tis (also known as stage I). EyeWorld: What makes these products so effective for certain patients? Dr. Perez: Years ago, I had been using au- tologous serum tears for the treatment of ocular surface diseases while at the Cleveland Clinic. Then I moved to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, and we started collaborating with Dr. Eduardo Anitua, an oral surgeon from Spain, who has extensive experience with the use of platelet-de- rived products in oral surgery. We demonstrat- ed that these have more growth factors and What ophthalmologists wish you knew about platelet-derived therapies continued on page 56 Here are visual representations of autologous serum eye drop preparation. A) The procedure includes filtering blood serum diluted in sterile normal saline through a 0.22 μm filter. B) Filtered serum is drawn into a syringe and carefully dispensed into sterile eye dropper vials. Source: Angela Gomez A B

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)