EW
IN OTHER NEWS
66
November 2011
damage
to their cornea, including
scars or foreign bodies and rupture
of Descemet's membrane.
"The military does an excellent
job of picking up these penetrating
globe injuries, but there are eyes that
don't have an obvious injury that
need to be looked at closely," said
Dr. Cockerham. "We're not looking
at open-globe injuries. We didn't
evaluate those eyes. These are eyes
that looked normal and most of the
time had normal vision. That's the
key point. Even if they wore eye pro-
tection and had normal visual acu-
ity, they're still at risk for these
injuries."
The take-home message for oph-
thalmologists is to inquire during of-
fice visits about blast exposure in
current and former military person-
nel.
"Ophthalmologists need to ask
these patients if they've ever been
exposed to a blast severe enough to
cause some of the signs of TBI such
as headache, loss of consciousness,
and amnesia," Dr. Cockerham said.
"Then they need to do a complete
eye examination to include a dilated
retinal exam, as well as gonioscopy.
The most common thing we found
was angle recession, which puts [pa-
tients] at future risk for glaucoma. In
fact, we've had traumatic glaucoma
during a baseline exam. We saw it
early. These patients should have a
visual field as well."
MSgt. Ewell hopes that Dr.
Cockerham's research will help de-
termine the relationship between vi-
sual and ocular damage and TBI and
aid the military in developing equip-
ment that better protects the eyes
and the brain from blasts. Although
research is ongoing, developing eye
protection that shields against shock
waves may be more difficult than it
sounds.
"We have to think what is our
primary mechanism of injury," said
Dr. Mazzoli. "If we have a material
that
would be spongy enough to ab-
sorb the energies from the blast
wave, what is the trade off on the
ballistic protection? The majority of
our injuries come from shrapnel, not
blast. So in addressing blast, do we
give up shrapnel protection? How
do we bring the two of them to-
gether and still maintain visibility
clarity?"
These are all important ques-
tions service members like MSgt.
Ewell, Cpl. Poole, and their families
hope can be answered. In the
meantime, though, patients of Dr.
Cockerham seem to be in extremely
capable hands.
"It's amazing being a patient of
Dr. Cockerham," MSgt. Ewell said.
"The way he interacts with his pa-
tients is an example every single
doctor should try to emulate. The
man obviously loves his work and
genuinely cares about every single
patient he works with. It's almost
like you're not vising a doctor,
you're visiting a family member who
is taking care of you.
"I can't tell you how thankful I
am for Dr. Cockerham and his re-
search," he continued. "It's revealing
amazing things."
EW
Editors' note: None of the sources
quoted have financial interests related
to this article.
Contact information
Cockerham: 650-858-3908,
glenn.cockerham@va.gov
Ewell: gordyewell@yahoo.com
Mazzoli: contact Shoshona Pilip-Florea,
202-762-3316,
shoshona.pilip-forea@med.navy.mil
Palo Alto Health Care System: Kerri
Childress, 650-858-3925,
kerri.childress@va.gov
Poole: happy4brit@yahoo.com
Wilmore: contact Kelley Thibodeau,
703-604-5643,
kelley.thibodeau.ctr@tma.osd.mil
Accutome
Page: 10
Phone: 610-889-0200
Fax: 610-889-3233
www.accutome.com
Alcon Laboratories Inc.
Page: 18 and 19
Phone: 800-862-5266
Fax: 800-241-0677
www.alconlabs.com
Asia-Pacific
Page: 47
Phone: 65-63278630
www.apacrs.org
BRACRS
Page:
Phone: 55(17) 3214-5900
Fax: 55(17) 3214-5905
www.bracrs.org
Bio-Tissue
Page: 5
Phone: 866-296-8858
Fax: 305-412-4429
www.biotissue.com
CBD/Tomey
Page: 7
Phone: 888-449-4045
Fax: 602-508-4896
www.tomeyusa.com
ESCRS
Page: 58, 61, and 64
www.escrs.org
Eagle Laboratories
Page: 46
Phone: 909-481-0011
Fax: 909-481-4481
www.eaglelabs.com
Gulden
Ophthalmics
Page: 62
Phone: 215-884-8105
Fax: 215-884-0418
www.guldenophthalmics.com
www.hurricanemedical.com
IBF Innovation Summit
Page: 23
Phone: 516-765-9005
www.ophthalmology
summit.com
Katena Products
Page: 16
Phone: 973-989-1600
Fax: 973-989-8175
www.katena.com
Mani
Page: 44
Phone: 812-866-77565
Fax: 812-866-76177
www.mani.co.jp
Marco
Page: Cover 2
Phone: 904-642-9330
Fax: 904-642-9338
www.marcooph.com
Mastel Precision
Page: 29
Phone: 800-657-8057
Fax: 605-343-3631
www.mastel.com
Medownick Laser Eye Clinic
Page: 62
Phone: 1800 37 39 37
www.Medownicklasereyesurgery.com
Moria USA
Page: Cover 3
Phone: 215-230-7662
Fax: 215-230-7670
www.moriausa.com
NexTech
Page: Cover 4
Phone: 813-425-9200
Fax: 813-425-9292
www.nextech.com
OCuSOFT
Page: 42
Phone: 800-233-5469
Fax: 281-232-6015
www.ocusoft.com
Rhein Medical Inc.
Page: 13
Phone: 813-885-5050
Fax: 813-885-9346
www.rheinmedical.com
Ziemer Ophthalmic
Page: 32
Phone: 866-708-4490
Fax: 681-462-9302
www.ziemergroup.com
ASCRS•ASOA
Meeting Information
2012 ASCRS Symposium and
ASOA Congress
Page: 27
ASCRS Glaucoma Day/Cornea
Day 2012
Page: 38
ASCRS Winter Update 2012
Page: 20 and 21
ASCRS Membership
Page: 39
ASCRS Media Center
Page: 57
ASOA Membership
Page: 52
EyeWorld rePlay
Page: 54
Index to Advertisers
Uncovering continued from page 65
Retired Army Master Sergeant Gordon Ewell (right) believes the research of Glenn Cockerham,
M.D. (left), is preventing him from going completely blind
Source: MSgt. Gordon Ewell
