Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 54 Meeting Reporter Sunday, April 19, 2015 by Rich Daly EyeWorld Contributing Writer refractive surgery patients requires ophthalmic practices to establish a technician- and data-driven pro- cess, according to speakers at "The Missing Link: Integrating Advanced T he collection of data through early and regular testing for ocular surface problems can allow sur- geons to prevent problems, effectively respond when they arise, and drive patient behavior and satisfaction. Consistently detecting ocu- lar surface disease (OSD) among Ocular Surface Regimens & Routines to Improve Refractive Cataract Out- comes," an EyeWorld CME Educa- tional Symposium. "If you really want to get into ocular surface care, it doesn't take that much time to train your staff to do it the right way," said Victor L. Perez, MD, Miami. Training staff on OSD testing, such as staining or tear breakup time, is the key to ensure the data the surgeon is examining is con- sistent enough to drive decision making. "It saves us a lot of time if the technician is performing this work before you see the patient," said Christopher E. Starr, MD, New York. "And similar to glaucoma, it is data driven." Technician roles can include taking an elaborate history, refining symptom detection based on a ques- tionnaire, probing for symptoms that may not be on questionnaires, a slit lamp exam, and performing a quick no-touch exam without drops. "You don't want the technician to disturb the ocular surface, but they can pick up some of the big OSDs very quickly," Dr. Starr said. Careful screening of all preop refractive surgery patients is critical because many will be asymptomatic but have detectable signs of dry eye disease that can be diagnosed and treated before surgery. When positive signs or symp- toms are identified, Dr. Starr recom- mends having the technician test for osmolarity, and when normal, moving on to non-dry eye diseases that can drive ocular dysfunction. A specific precaution was for refractive surgeons who find an abnormal MMP-9 result to refrain from taking refractive measurements until the ocular surface is treated and normal- ized. Regular and consistent measure- ments on subsequent visits are crit- ical in directing ongoing treatment, Dr. Starr said. The data also can provide a powerful way to make the disease real to patients and underscore the need for impatient patients to ad- dress it before refractive surgery. "Some ophthalmologists say they are overwhelmed, but these are the patients where we need as much Use data to drive ocular surface approach 80O.787.5426 haag-streit-usa.com © 2015 Haag-Streit USA. All Rights Reserved. LENSTAR LS 900 Improving outcomes. Barrett & Olsen Formulas on Board Measured lens thickness and two of the latest generation multivariable IOL formulas allow for premium IOL power prediction with the LENSTAR. T-Cone Toric Platform The optional t-cone complements LENSTAR's measurement pallet with true Placido topography of the central cornea and a powerful surgical planner using the Barrett toric calculator. EyeSuite IOL Toric Planner The optional IOL toric planner allows optimisation of the incision location and planning of the surgery on real eye images to reach advanced refractive results. See it at our ASCRS Booth #2545 continued on page 56

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