Opening Lines

A NY FAMILY IS MAKING MEDICAL MISSIONS A TRADITION

Father-son team take expertise to Grenada

By Bill Kekevian, Senior Associate Editor

■ A father-son team participated in a medical mission trip to Grenada, West Indies earlier this year. The pair, Dr. Gerard D’Aversa of Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island (OCLI), and his son Jerry, 21, a junior and pre-med student at Manhattan College on his first mission trip, performed sight-restoring procedures for area residents seeking medical assistance. Jerry assisted in the OR, conducted pre and post-operative examinations and distributed eye medicine to the public while his father performed the actual surgeries.

“This mission trip was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life,” said Jerry. “The reason I wanted to go to Grenada was because I wanted to be involved in restoring vision to people who were in desperate need of health care. My favorite part of the trip was examining patients the day after cataract and corneal transplant surgery. The patients could not believe that they could see again. Everyone was very grateful for our work,” he added.

This isn’t the first family mission for Dr. D’Aversa. On New Year’s Eve 2010, Dr. D’Aversa and his daughter Jaclyn, a student at Barnard College of Columbia University, rang in 2011 by traveling to provide clinical care and conduct eye screenings for children and adults in Accra, Ghana’s North Western Eye Clinic.

Jaclyn says this charitable work comes naturally. “My family always had a strong value for philanthropic causes,” she says. “Community service was something that was ingrained in us from a young age.

Dr. D’Aversa (right) and his son, Jerry, visited the Grenada on a mission.

On Long Island, Dr. D’Aversa performs eye surgeries at Island Eye Surgicenter in Carle Place. Island Eye donated much-needed equipment and supplies for Dr. D’Aversa’s first mission to Ghana and they coordinated the donations from medical companies and the necessary surgical and medical supplies that were critical to the Grenada mission. Island Eye also provided a surgical technician, Kadrian Tobias, who volunteered to join Dr. D’Aversa to Grenada and assist him in the OR.

Study reveals femtosecond laser advantages

A new survey suggests more patients are opting for laser cataract surgery. The 2013 Laser Cataract Surgery Survey, conducted by medical device consulting company SM2 Strategic, includes data from 205 cataract surgeons at 65 centers and 275,000 cases spanning slightly more than two years.

The survey showed 30% of all cataract procedures in the first quarter of 2013 included femtosecond lasers, including 20% of all conventional IOL implantations, 55% of toric IOL implantations and 74% of presbyopic IOLs implantations.

Forty-four percent of respondents reported the adoption of femtosecond technology increased overall procedure volumes, while 53% said they saw no change and 3% reported a decrease. In addition, respondents said the adoption of femtosecond technology affected their percentage of premium IOL implantations: Forty-six percent of respondents said it increased, 45% reported it remained the same and 9% said it decreased. The response rate was 49%; the average time of respondents using a femtosecond laser in cataract surgery was 12 months.

AN ANALYSIS AT FIVE AND 10 YEARS SHOWS NO SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE CHANGE

Antioxidant supplements don’t help lower IOP, says AREDS

By Bill Kekevian, Senior Associate Editor

■ High doses of antioxidant supplements were shown to have no effect on IOP pressure in a study presented at the American Glaucoma Society’s annual meeting in March. Although oxidative damage to the trabecular meshwork may compromise aqueous outflow and, subsequently, raise IOP, anti-oxidants fail to protect against glaucoma through IOP reduction, according to the Age-related Eye disease Study (AREDS) led by Thasarat Vajaranant, MD, of the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Researchers analyzed data on 3,017 participants who were randomized to high-dose antioxidants and a placebo over five and then 10 years. After five years, 1,400 subjects’ IOP data were available. Of those, 739 patients in the high-dose antioxidant supplement group showed a mean IOP of 15. 8. Meanwhile, 719 patients in the placebo group showed a mean IOP of 15.7. After 10 years, 618 patients who had taken the supplements showed a mean IOP of 15.8, while the placebo groups mean IOP was 15.5.

The regimen studied consisted of beta-carotene, 15 mg, vitamin C, 500 mg, vitamin E, 400 IU, and zinc oxide 80 mg.

The study also said that while there was no significant difference between IOP between the supplement and placebo groups at baselines of either at five or 10 years, a survival effect may exist, which could bias the results toward the null.

IN BRIEF

■ The FDA has approved the Tecnis toric 1-piece intraocular lens for the treatment of cataract patients with pre-existing corneal astigmatism. The IOL is manufactured by Abbott Medical Optics.

■ TearScience’s LipiFlow treatment for evaporative dry eye was featured on the syndicated television talk show, “The Doctors,” earlier in May.

■ Iridex Corporation announced a partnership agreement with Peregrine Surgical. The partnership means that IRIDEX will become a worldwide distributor for Peregrine labeled products and Peregrine Surgical will become part of the Iridex supply chain for the manufacture of certain Iridex products. This includes ophthalmology surgical instruments such as laser EndoProbe Handpieces and GreenTip Cannulas.

■ Ophthalmic Women Leaders (OWL) has announced the winners of its annual awards. The Visionary Woman Award went to Adrienne Graves, PhD, former president and CEO of Santen, Inc. The Rising Star Award was won by journalist Sheryl Stevenson, and the Catalyst Award was given to Heather Ready, vice president of marketing for the company AcuFocus, which has developed the KAMRA corneal inlay for presbyopia.

■ Bausch + Lomb recently announced its new Storz line which will carry a new femtosecond cataract instrument set. The set will be designed specifically for use with femtosecond laser platforms. The 13-item set was developed in collaboration with leading femtosecond laser surgeons and includes choppers, cannulas, forceps, spreaders, dissectors and a polisher.

■ Haag-Streit USA has named Alliance Medical as the independent sales company for Haag-Streit USA’s new surgical division, which markets a line of surgical microscopes. Additional information is available at www.haag-streit-usa.com.

■ The FDA has approved Simbrinza Suspension (Alcon Laboratories Inc.), an IOP-lowering drug for patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Simbrinza is a fixed-dose combination medication, making it the only available fixed-dose combination therapy for glaucoma in the United States without a beta-blocker.