The AAO annual meeting in Atlanta was filled with information for cornea and external disease specialists, not only in the subspecialty day meeting but throughout the entire program. Much evidence was presented confirming the advantages previously proposed at AA0 2007.
One such example is collagen cross linking. Felt to help prevent progression of post-lasik ectasia, it has also been suggested as a method to prevent keratoconus progression. Dilraj Singh Grewal and Rajeev Jain presented topographic data performed with the Pentacam confirming no progression one year after treatment with collagen cross linking in patients with keratoconus. David Rootman presented data demonstrating astigmatic keratotomy performed with the intralase was equal, if not superior, to AK performed manually.
Femtosecond laser technology has become more popular in lasik – originally Intralase was the only laser available but recently the Femto LDV “portable femtosecond laser” became available. Dan Durrie compared a contralateral eye study comparing the two lasers and found that, although stromal beds were smoother by EM in the Intralase eyes, visual outcomes were equal.
Restasis has enjoyed success in treating dry eye syndrome, but its use in improving visual outcomes after cataract surgery has also been discussed. At the AAO 2008, David Schanzlin showed a significant reduction in retreatment rates (2.8% vs. 9.8%) with the use of post-operative cyclosporine after myopic lasik.
Additionally, much talk at the meeting was not about something actively presented there, but something on the horizon: Wavetec’s ORange – an intraoperative aberrometer. Its use in maximizing alignment of toric IOLs and limbal relaxing incisions has been excellent in preliminary trials, but multiple other uses are being actively discovered – including a possible aphakic IOL calculation for post-lasik patients. A click fee will apply however, so final results with have to be outstanding for this to become a part of the average operating room.
Ultimately, the annual meeting was beneficial to all who were able to attend, but the clinical pearls are still available for those who could not make it to Atlanta at the academy website, www.aao.org.