Eyeworld

3 EW NEWS & OPINION I n an ongoing effort to end cataract blindness in the United States, the ASCRS Foundation has brought together several local organizations that pro- vide charitable cataract surgery to patients in need, combining them into one comprehensive nationwide network with other individual eyecare centers and surgeons called the Operation Sight Network. The new network will enable physicians and eyecare profession- als to perform charitable cataract surgeries in their own communities with administrative and financial support from the ASCRS Foundation and ophthalmic industry leaders, enhancing their efforts to end preventable cataract blindness in the United States. Stephen S. Lane, MD, ASCRS Foundation Domestic Committee chair, initiated the program after observing the work done by the Foundation on the international front. Dr. Lane recognized the need for humanitarian eyecare here in the U.S. as well as abroad. "There are many patients who don't have access to medical care and don't have access to the first- class cataract surgery that most of the members of ASCRS practice on a regular basis," he said. "I thought it would be a good opportunity to serve our indigent population and also provide a great opportunity for the engagement of ASCRS, since we are the leading cataract surgical society in the world." How it works The ASCRS Foundation will provide the administrative and financial support needed to streamline the process of prequalifying and prepar- ing deserving patients for surgery, relieving much of the burden from volunteer physicians, their staffs, and participating surgery centers. With this infrastructure in place, new physicians or existing organiza- tions will be able to "plug in" to the network easily while maintaining their autonomy, said Dr. Lane. Operation Sight Charleston, one of the founding surgery centers, allowed the ASCRS Foundation to adopt its name for the new network. The other founding member institu- tions are Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and Operation Access in San Francisco. Kerry Solomon, MD, of Operation Sight Charleston, performed the first 2 cataract sur- geries as part of the Operation Sight Network on July 2 at Physicians Eye Surgery Center in Charleston. Both surgeries were successful, and the patients are now seeing clearly. Creating a national network of providers will raise awareness of the humanitarian work already being done by physicians and industry in the field of ophthalmology, said Dr. Lane. "This is a way in which we can get national recognition for not only what we do with Operation Sight but the good things that physicians do on a daily basis that may be un- derappreciated and unrecognized," he said. The ASCRS Foundation aims to have 10 local surgery sites up and running and to perform at least 100 charitable surgeries by the end of 2014. ASCRS Foundation launches national charity cataract surgery initiative by Lauren Lipuma EyeWorld Staff Writer © 2013 Novartis 9/13 RES13076JAD CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this device to the sale by or on the order of a physician. INDICATIONS: The AcrySof ® IQ ReSTOR ® Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lens (IOL) is intended for primary implantation for the visual correction of aphakia second- ary to removal of a cataractous lens in adult patients with and without presby- opia, who desire near, intermediate and distance vision with increased spectacle independence. The lens is intended to be placed in the capsular bag. WARNING/PRECAUTION: Careful pre- operative evaluation and sound clinical judgment should be used by the surgeon to decide the risk/benefit ratio before im- planting a lens in a patient with any of the conditions described in the Directions for Use labeling. Physicians should target emmetropia, and ensure that IOL centra- tion is achieved. Care should be taken to remove viscoelastic from the eye at the close of surgery. Some patients may experience visual dis- turbances and/or discomfort due to mul- tifocality, especially under dim light con- ditions. Clinical studies with the AcrySof ® ReSTOR ® lens indicated that posterior capsule opacification (PCO), when pres- ent, developed earlier into clinically sig- nificant PCO. Prior to surgery, physicians should provide prospective patients with a copy of the Patient Information Bro- chure available from Alcon for this prod- uct informing them of possible risks and benefits associated with the AcrySof ® IQ ReSTOR ® IOLs. Studies have shown that color vision discrimination is not adversely affected in individuals with the AcrySof ® Natural IOL and normal color vision. The effect on vision of the AcrySof ® Natural IOL in subjects with hereditary color vision de- fects and acquired color vision defects secondary to ocular disease (e.g., glauco- ma, diabetic retinopathy, chronic uveitis, and other retinal or optic nerve diseases) has not been studied. Do not resterilize; do not store over 45° C; use only sterile irrigating solutions such as BSS ® or BSS PLUS ® Sterile Intraocular Irrigating Solu- tions. ATTENTION: Reference the Directions for Use labeling for a complete listing of indi- cations, warnings and precautions. www.AcrySofReSTOR.com September 2014 A patient is prepped for surgery by volunteer anesthesiologist Sean Zyblewski, MD. Dr. Solomon performs cataract surgery on a patient through the ASCRS Foundation's Operation Sight Network. Source (all): Cindi Solomon continued on page 10

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