Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 58 Anterior segment surgeons and retina Symposium on pharma intervention for patients with anterior and posterior diseases will educate and entertain T his year's "Pharmacological Intervention for the Ante- rior Segment Surgery Pa- tient with Retinal Disease," sponsored by the ASCRS Retina Clinical Committee, will "try to provide education for the general ophthalmologist and corneal ante- rior segment subspecialist about common retinal disorders that occur in patients for whom they are pro- viding care. The idea is to offer ante- rior segment specialists some insight into how we manage those diseases, so the anterior segment specialist will know the most currently avail- able treatment modalities, which pa- tients are the best candidates for these treatments, when to appropri- ately refer a patient, and what are reasonable expectations for patient outcomes," said moderator Keith A. Warren, MD, Overland Park, Kan. For instance, Dr. Warren said some of the "real advances in the treatment of retinal disease" include the development of new anti-vascu- lar endothelial growth factor (anti- VEGF) treatments for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, in particular the use of Aflibercept (Eylea, Regeneron, Tarrytown, New York) "that may provide longer effi- cacy and not only works well for pa- tients with macular degeneration, but also works well in a host of other diseases like diabetic macular edema," he said. Since the majority of retina pa- tients also have cataract, "the ques- tion becomes how do we best manage these co-morbidities," Dr. Warren said. "Part of this commit- tee's job is to help educate people about how and when to intervene— what special considerations are nec- essary in patients with retinal disorders? How should post-opera- tive care differ?" To that end, Dr. Warren said the symposium will present "four or five" different clinical situations of retinal disorders and cataract in an interactive discussion between pan- elists and the audience. The panelists will be discussing issues such as how the current avail- able medications (anti-VEGFs and ocriplasmin, will impact anterior segment surgery. "These are really translational events," he said. "Researchers had these compounds on the bench, and were thinking how they could be used effectively to treat retina dis- eases, they were modified and un- derwent clinical study, and now we have them in our arsenal and they are really benefiting patients." Panelists include: David S. Boyer, MD; Tarek S. Hassan, MD; Michael J. Jumper, MD; William F. Mieler, MD; Kevin M. Miller, MD; Timothy W. Olsen, MD; and David F. Williams, MD. Attendees will learn the retina specialist's perspective on how to co- manage these patients and when they recommend this subset of pa- tients to undergo cataract surgery. Dr. Olsen will present on cataract surgery and pharmacology in the AMD patient; Dr. Boyer will discuss the management of both acute and chronic cystoid macular edema; Dr. Jumper will discuss the vasculo- pathic patient and cataract surgery; and Dr. Mieler will address macular pucker and vitreomacular traction. Perhaps saving the best for last, Dr. Warren said the last presentation will concentrate on the potential complications from intravitreal in- jections and will "really delve into the compounding issue, as there have been some reports of ocular in- fections following injections of med- ication that originated in a compounding pharmacy in New England." The presenter, Dr. Williams, was president of the Amer- ican Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) when the debate over access to Avastin (bevacizumab) was raised over safety concerns related to com- pounding. His unique perspective on this subject should provide for an interesting presentation and discus- sion. The symposium is scheduled for 8:00-9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 21, 2013, in Room 132-133 of the Moscone Center. EW Saturday, April 20, 2013 ASCRS Symposia by Michelle Dalton EyeWorld Contributing Writer William F. Mieler, MD, will be one of the panelists for "Pharmacological Intervention for the Anterior Segment Surgery Patient With Retinal Disease," sponsored by the ASCRS Retina Clinical Committee.

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