Eyeworld

EW AAO PREVIEW 31 Symposium will feature new and upcoming surgical products M ost ophthalmologists seem to love new sur- gical technology, and there's a session at this year's AAO annual meeting that will enable them to get a whole afternoon full of it. "New Technology in Cataract Surgery," to be held from 2-4 p.m. at the AAO meeting in Orlando, is a combined symposium with ASCRS that will cover nearly 20 devices that have been approved by the FDA or that will likely be approved in the next 6 months, said symposium co- chair Roger F. Steinert, M.D., pro- fessor of ophthalmology, University of California, Irvine. "The technologies we want to emphasize are things people have not heard of or haven't heard much about yet," said Dr. Steinert. Symposium co-chair Stephen S. Lane, M.D., adjunct clinical profes- sor, University of Minnesota, Min- neapolis, called the symposium a "brand new brainchild" that he and Dr. Steinert put together. The session will give each speaker 6 minutes to discuss the new technology he or she has used. Tech- nologies are grouped by common themes, such as femtosecond cataract surgery and new presbyopia technology. However, Dr. Steinert said the 6-minute talks are not com- mercials for the new products. "We've tried to be evenhanded," he said. "This is not a commercial for products but [is intended to] explore the technology to see how it can help us better take care of our pa- tients." Speakers will discuss "how the technology is used, what it does, how it affects the practice, and the potential advantages and disadvan- tages compared to what's now avail- able," Dr. Lane said. Program details The first round of presentations will focus on accurate placement of astigmatic incisions and toric IOLs. This area has had a number of challenges for many years, Dr. Steinert said. "Now, in a short period of time, there are five or six tech- nologies that are different and all are attempting to address these chal- lenges. That could greatly facilitate accuracy of surgery and help lead to better outcomes," he said. Featured technology will be the Haag-Streit (Mason, Ohio) and Clarity Systems (Pleasanton, Calif.), presented by Robert H. Osher, M.D., Cincinnati; the WaveTec ORange (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), pre- sented by Eric D. Donnenfeld, M.D., New York; the SMI System (Germany), presented by Dr. Lane; TrueVision Imaging (Santa Barbara, Calif.), presented by Robert J. Weinstock, M.D., Tampa, Fla.; and the Zeiss System (Dublin, Calif.), presented by Dr. Steinert. Next the symposium will delve into the hot topic of femtosecond refractive cataract surgery. Presenta- tions will focus on lasers from LenSx (Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas), led by Robert J. Cionni, M.D., Salt Lake City; LensAR (Winter Park, Fla.), led by William J. Fishkind, M.D., Mesa, Ariz.; OptiMedica (Santa Clara, Calif.), led by William W. Culbertson, M.D., Miami; and Tech- nolas (St. Louis), led by Richard B. Foulkes, M.D., Lombard, Ill. The third theme that the sym- posium will cover is new presbyopia technology. "This will cover IOLs that have gone through FDA clinical trials and are not yet available in U.S. but are available in some other countries, such as the Visiogen Synchrony [Irvine, Calif.]," Dr. Lane said. Expect to learn more about dual optic IOLs in a presentation led by David F. Chang, M.D., San Fran- cisco; PowerVision (Belmont, Calif.), presented by Louis D. Nichamin, M.D., Brookville, Pa.; PixelOptics spectacles (Roanoke, Va.), led by William A. Maxwell, M.D., Ph.D., Fresno, Calif.; corneal inlays, led by Jon G. Dishler, M.D., Greenwood Village, Colo.; and the NuLens (Israel), presented by Stephen G. Slade, M.D., F.A.C.S., Houston. A theme on surgical adjuncts will cover tissue adhesives in a pres- entation led by Terry Kim, M.D., Durham, N.C., and capsular tension rings and segments, by Ike K. Ahmed, M.D., Toronto. The final theme of the sympo- sium focuses on learning technol- ogy. This will cover the challenges of teaching ophthalmic surgery to resi- dents and even practicing physi- cians. "We have traditionally learned eye surgery by the see one, do one, teach one method," Dr. Steinert said. "The problem with that since the be- ginning of time is there are no good animal models for human eyes, par- ticularly for teaching cataract sur- gery." The programs that will be shown during the session—includ- ing the Virtual Mentor (Boston), pre- sented by Bonnie An Henderson, M.D., Boston; and the VRmagic Surgical Simulator (VRmagic, Germany), led by David H. Cherwek, M.D., New York—offer new ways to teach surgery. The VRmagic Surgical Simulator helps users simulate surgery via a computer program. It also helps users develop control of their hands so they can obtain the high level of manual dexterity needed during sur- gery, Dr. Steinert said. The Virtual Mentor will show users not only how to do surgery, but also how to prevent complications and what to do when something goes wrong. "It goes over the subtleties and nuances that lead to good surgery," Dr. Steinert said. A final session at the sympo- sium will focus on e-learning and will be led by Eduardo P. Mayorga, M.D., Buenos Aires, Argentina. EW Editors' note: Dr. Lane has financial interests with Abbott Medical Optics (AMO, Santa Ana, Calif.), Alcon, and Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, N.Y.), among other ophthalmic companies. Dr. Steinert has financial interests with AMO, Alcon, and ReVision Optics (Lake Forest, Calif.), among other oph- thalmic companies. Contact information Lane: 651-275-3000, sslane@associatedeyecare.com Steinert: 949-824-8089, steinert@uci.edu by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Editor Catching up on cataract technology in one afternoon Roger F. Steinert, M.D. Stephen S. Lane, M.D. 30-39 AAO Preview_EW October 2011-DL3_Layout 1 9/29/11 5:14 PM Page 31

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