Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 54 Clock's ticking: Quick cornea insights the symposium," Dr. Kim said. "We're looking forward to hearing about some of the latest and greatest information on DMEK from one of the experts in the field." The majority of the symposium will feature panelists using the four- minute segments to discuss the corneal conditions that especially af- fect the patients that ophthalmolo- gists are evaluating and treating for cataract surgery. Adjusting the for- mat to an ophthalmology or cornea symposium will allow a panel com- prised of the members of the ASCRS Cornea Clinical Committee to cover a range of developments in cornea and external disease in a symposium geared toward the general ophthal- mologist. "We plan to cover a range of topics from run-of-the-mill dry eye and blepharitis to more traditional corneal subjects like herpes simplex or herpes zoster keratitis, and also some of the more rare things that they don't see all of the time like conjunctivochalasis and Thygeson's superficial punctate keratitis," said Dr. Kim. "The focus of our Hot Topics session this year will be to highlight the management of common condi- tions like dry eye and blepharitis in patients undergoing cataract sur- gery," he said. "Dry eyes and ble- pharitis can cause an abnormal tear film as well as an abnormal corneal surface that can make keratometry measurements very difficult and of- tentimes erroneous or misleading. Therefore the successful treatment of these conditions prior to these meas- urements and surgery becomes criti- cal." These common conditions are also important to understand be- cause they can affect post-op results as well, especially when premium lenses—like multifocal lenses—are used. The panel will discuss new techniques and technology as man- agement options for these condi- tions. For instance, treatment of meibomian gland disease will in- clude discussions on innovative therapeutic approaches, such as the use of intense pulsed light (IPL) ther- apy and devices such as the LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System (TearScience, Morrisville, N.C.) to apply heat to and massage the inner eyelids, liquefy the meibomian gland contents, and spur the release of meibomian secretions. The panel is also expected to touch on other conditions that are commonly encountered but often overlooked in cataract surgery pa- tients, such as anterior basement membrane dystrophy and Salz- mann's nodular degeneration. "These are some of the most fre- quently overlooked conditions that can cause irregularities in the ocular surface and affect the quality of pre- op measurements as well as post-op vision," Dr. Kim said. "I think the audience will want to hear how our expert panelists manage these condi- tions, whether it be epithelial de- bridement, superficial keratectomy, or excimer laser PTK with adjunctive treatments like mitomycin-C." Cataract surgery in post-refrac- tive patients, such as RK and LASIK recipients, is becoming more com- mon for cataract surgeons to en- counter, which also can raise corneal issues that affect surgical technique and IOL selection. Similarly, patients with an underlying diagnosis of uveitis or peripheral corneal thin- ning bring unique corneal chal- lenges when considering cataract surgery. "These are all conditions that cataract surgeons are going to be very interested in hearing about be- cause although these are conditions that people are familiar with, they are often missed, misdiagnosed, or simply ignored," Dr. Kim said. "There's a lot of interaction and discussion regarding the diagnosis and management of these corneal conditions among our panelists, and that's usually where a lot of clinical pearls come from during our sympo- sium," Dr. Kim said. EW Editors' note: Dr. Kim has no financial interests related to this article. Saturday, April 20, 2013 ASCRS Symposia by Rich Daly EyeWorld Contributing Writer Symposium will use strict time limits to cover a broad range of cornea, external disease topics for the general ophthalmologist C apturing the wide variety of recent developments in cornea and external dis- ease in one symposium can be a challenge. But two surgeons found inspiration in sports news. "Pardon the Ophthalmology: Hot Topics in Cornea and External Disease" at the ASCRS•ASOA Sympo- sium & Congress follows a format inspired by a cable sports show on ESPN called "Pardon the Interrup- tion" to cover a wide range of recent corneal developments in rapid-fire, four-minute segments. "This allows us to cover many corneal topics in a short time but in a fun, interactive format," said Terry Kim, MD, chair, ASCRS Cornea Clin- ical Committee, who will co-moder- ate the session with Edward J. Holland, MD. The ASCRS Cornea Clinical Committee symposium will start with a keynote lecture by Francis Price, MD, to update the audience on the latest developments in De- scemet's membrane endothelial ker- atoplasty (DMEK). "We picked that topic because we wanted something for the corneal surgeon who really wants to get something more advanced out of

• Cover