New Treatment for Macular holes

Recent approval of Jetrea (Ocriplasmin) to treat symptomatic VMA (Vitreo Macular Adhesion) has opened up a new era in non surgical management of macular holes. Previously only a hospital based surgery was able to reverse the process of macular hole development but now a new drug can be injected into the eye painlessly in the office and within a few weeks the process reverses back to more normal vision levels....  more


FDA Approves ASRS Leader's ArgusŪ II Artificial Retina

On February 14, the FDA approved the Argus II artificial retina developed by ASRS Executive Committee and Board Member Mark S. Humayun, MD, PhD.

This breakthrough technology is the first ever to offer limited vision to patients with late-stage retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

 Second Sight Medical Products (Sylmar, CA) manufactures the Argus II implant, which has 60 electrodes and a tiny camera mounted on eyeglasses to capture images.

 The FDA approved Argus II for adults age 25 years or older with severe to profound RP. About 10,000 to 15,000 of the 100,000 Americans with RP will qualify for Argus II. Up to 4,000 patients a year can be treated with the device.


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Macular degeneration and Aspirin?

Aspirin and Macular degeneration... is there an increase in the wet form of macular degeneration in those patients taking aspirin? The wet form develops quicker than the dry form. It may only be related to the fact that you are more likely to take aspirin if you have medical problems like stroke or heart attacks in the past and these conditions are more commonly associated with wet age related macular degeneration. ...  more

Endophthalmitis


Overview:

Endophthalmitis is a bacterial infection inside the eye that most commonly occurs in post eye surgery patients from 1 day to 2 weeks post operation, and even so only occurs in a very minute percentage of patients.  Because it is bacterial in nature, endophthalmitis requires medical attention immediately to preserve the eye and vision. Rarely this can be caused by an infection in another part of the body and not be related to surgery or injections. 

 

Symptoms & Types:

Endophthalmitis sufferers may experience severe pain in the affected eye, swelling and red discoloration of the eye, or partial vision loss depending on advancement of the case.

 

Treatment:

Anyone suspecting symptoms of endophthalmitis should see a physician or your specialist at East Carolina Retina Consultants immediately to avoid vision loss due to the infection.

Treatment usually involves an aggressive cycle of antibiotics administered orally, topically  or given as injections in the eye.  A culture may be taken from the vitreous gel to determine what type of bacteria has caused the infection, and to ensure that it will respond to the antibiotics being taken. Vitrectomy surgery may be needed in advanced cases.

 

Prevention: 

As endophthalmitis is found most often in a very small percentage of post-operation surgical eye patients, or after injections of medications into the eye. Cleaning of the eyelids and lashes are of paramount importance on a routine basis such as washing the face and eye lids with soap and water. Hot compress (warm washcloth wrung out and held on the closed eye lids for 10 minutes) can cut down on the bacteria living on the eye lids chronically.

The organisms that can cause endophthalmitis exist in a natural state in the nasal cavity and on the eyelids. For this reason the surgeon cleans the entire surgical field with anti bacterial soap (Betadine) and the instruments and drapes are sterilized prior to surgery. If you have an eye lid infection that is active, it may be prudent to delay the surgery until the infection is cleared. Discuss this with your surgeon.

For patients that have a history of diabetes, or are immunocompromised, the surgeon may elect to administer a topical or oral antibiotic pre-operation to further minimize surface bacteria within the surgical field.