Eyeworld

11 EW NEWS & OPINION Headline byline goes here plus fade June 2016 Combined Ophthalmic Symposium returns to Austin R egistration is now open for the 2016 Combined Ophthalmic Symposium (COS), sponsored by ASCRS, ASOA, and the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses (ASORN). This year, COS returns to Austin, Texas, on August 26–28 at the JW Marriott. The program offers opportunities for integrated staff development, fea- turing tracks for ophthalmologists, young eye surgeons (YES), ASOA practice management staff, optome- trists, and nurses and technicians. The format allows COS attend- ees to maximize their weekend learning experience by providing intensive educational programming for everyone involved in the oph- thalmic practice. The entire practice benefits from the comprehensive curriculum. Other benefits include the networking opportunities and the lively cultural offerings of Austin, which consistently ranks as a top U.S. city to visit. Ophthalmologist Program The 2016 Ophthalmologist Program is aimed at anterior segment sur- geons, comprehensive ophthalmolo- gists, and ophthalmic residents and fellows with an interest in anterior segment care. Topics include: • Phaco fundamentals: Techniques, tips, and tricks • Conquering complex cataracts: Planned and unplanned • Astigmatism correction: Achieving our best outcomes • Spectrum of presbyopia treatment —the cornea, the lens and the sclera: Which is best? • Glaucoma: Keys to interpreting studies and maximizing treatment • MIGS: Should I try it? • Lamellar keratoplasty—pearls, trials and tribulations of transi- tioning to new techniques • Ocular surface disease diagnosis & treatment: Separating fact from fiction • Retina update: AMD, diabetic retinopathy and vitreous management • Oculoplastic pearls and perils • What am I doing new in 2016? The Ophthalmologist Pro- gram will be held Saturday, August 27, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, August 28, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The program chairs for 2016 are Douglas Koch, MD, Kendall Donaldson, MD, and Sumitra Khandelwal, MD. They are joined by an esteemed faculty who will deliver the quality educational programming for which ASCRS is known. "The 2016 COS has a fantastic, diverse faculty who will share new and highly relevant material geared toward comprehensive ophthalmol- ogists," Dr. Koch said. "Topics will include new tricks and troubleshooting with toric IOLs, advances in IOL calculations, refin- ing the use of multifocal IOLs, prac- tical tips for transitioning to MIGS, retina and plastics pearls, and videos galore," he added. "We will have time for questions and discussion both in sessions and informally with the faculty. We want attendees to leave with a lot of new information that they can apply immediately in their practices." Young Eye Surgeons Program For residents, fellows and surgeons in their first 5 years of practice, the Young Eye Surgeons (YES) Program —free for U.S. residents and fellows —begins August 26 with a skills transfer session focused on pha- co, manual LRI (marking, manual incisions), suturing, lens folding and lens loading. Attendees will break for lunch with a faculty panel discus- sion, then move to faculty round- tables on patient conversations, job searching, training takeaways, and more. The afternoon will include a breakout of challenging and com- plex case discussions, video presen- tations, lectures, and additional time in the lab to work on skills. The YES Program continues over the week- end with the 2-day Ophthalmologist Program, described above. "We are excited to offer another great YES Program this year," said Dr. Khandelwal, chair of the YES Program and co-chair of the Oph- thalmology Program. "We will have a fantastic wet lab with a variety of In the journal . . . Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in complex cases Michael Taravella, MD, Beeran Meghpara, MD, Garrett Frank, MD, William Gensheimer, MD, Richard Davidson, MD In this retrospective case series, investigators reviewed how complex cataract cases fared with use of the LenSx femtosecond laser (Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas). Included here were 34 consecutive complex cataract cases that were done with the femtosecond laser between October 2013 and February 2015. Among the complex cases were 27 white cataract cases, 3 dense brunescent cataracts, and 6 zonulopathy cases, with 2 zonulopathy cases occurring in conjunction with white cataracts. When investigators considered complications, they found that an incomplete capsulotomy occurred in 3 cases, and there were small radial tears in the anterior capsule in 3 cases. During phacoemulsification, 11.7% of patients developed posterior capsule tears, with 1 needing a pars plana vitrectomy for retained lens fragment removal. When it came to postop- erative corrected distance acuity, 97% of patients attained 20/40 vision or better. Comorbidities limited postoperative acuity in 3 patients, and cystoid macular edema was seen in 1 case. Investigators concluded that particularly for the creation of the capsulotomy, use of the femtosecond laser was beneficial in complex cataract cases. Cataract surgery in patients with chronic severe graft versus host disease Ankit Shah, MD, Marcony Santhiago, MD, Edgar Espana, MD Investigators in this retrospective case study evaluated how 10 eyes of 6 patients with chronic, severe ocular graft versus host disease fared after phacoemulsification with implantation of an intraocular lens. Patients with ocular graft versus host disease who had cataracts removed were first identified via chart review. In all cases these were posterior sub- capsular cataracts. Investigators determined that preoperative acuity improved from a mean of 20/84 to 20/30 at 1 month postoperatively. Despite the fact that postoperative corneal melting occurred in 2 cases, following surgery all but 1 patient had improved visual acuity. The conclusion reached was that excellent postoperative outcomes were attained with the aid of treatment for dry eye syndrome, in conjunction with careful preoperative biometric measurements and calculations, in those with severe graft versus host disease. However, there was a greater frequency of corneal melting than anticipated for these patients. Refractive outcomes after phacovitrectomy surgery Leonie van der Geest, MD, Martin Siemerink, MD, Marco Mura, MD, Maarten Mourits, MD, Ruth Lapid-Gortzak, MD Do those who undergo phacovitrectomy enjoy the same kind of accuracy in determining intraocular lens power as those undergoing phacoemulsification alone? That's what investigators in this retrospec- tive comparative case series wanted to determine. They considered how refractions calculated with the aid of the IOLMaster 500 (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) or the Haigis formula stacked up for those who underwent phacovitrectomy versus those who had phacoemulsi- fication. There were 133 eyes in the phacovitrectomy group compared to 132 eyes that underwent phacoemulsification alone. Investigators determined that there were comparable refractive outcomes after the 2 procedures. In 94.9% of cases, those who underwent phacovitrectomy attained final postoperative acuity within 1 D of the preoperative refrac- tive target compared to 94.6% of those who underwent phacoemulsifi- cation. Even with deeper subgroup analysis, investigators found that in cases of gas tamponade or in unusually long eyes with an axial length of 26 mm or greater, there was no increased risk of refractive surprise. June 2016 Education for your entire practice in 1 weekend by Tami O'Brien ASCRS•ASOA Copywriter ASCRS update continued on page 12

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