EUROPEAN OPHTHALMIC REVIEW – VOLUME 2 – SUMMER 2008

Avery high standard of ophthalmic care has now been reached. Patient satisfaction is high, especially in cataract surgery, which is the most common procedure in the field. This issue of European Ophthalmic Review includes several articles on this topic, with contributions on biometry, anaesthesia techniques and scleral fixation techniques for difficult cases. However, ophthalmology must […]

Nearly 17 million children with low vision or blurred eyesight lack visual aids, services or spectacles. 2008 has seen a number of promising international initiatives to improve paediatric eye care in regions where access to professional clinics is limited. Many related projects are part of ‘Vision 2020’, a global initiative of the World Health Organization […]

A stable but inherently unjust equilibrium exists in eye care in developing countries, causing exclusion, marginalisation and suffering for both patients with eye disease and eye-care providers who lack the authority, autonomy, resources or political power to change the situation. Patient choices include an unaffordable private sector or an inherently inefficient public system. The medical […]

Levofloxacin is a later-generation antibacterial agent of the fluoroquinolone class that exhibits a broad spectrum of in vitro activity. It has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of a wide range of community- and hospital-associated infections.1 This review presents a microbiological perspective of the use of levofloxacin for topical treatment of bacterial external […]

A non-contact specular microscope makes no direct contact with the eye and is effective in capturing images easily, two features that are important for clinical applications. However, there are some disadvantages such as a narrower capturing range and lower image quality compared with a contact-type specular microscope. It has also been found that errors can […]

Retinal imaging has evolved over many years thanks to the contributions of ophthalmologists, engineers and companies. However, there are certain important landmarks that have changed the way in which we view and understand the retina. After working on the eye’s anatomy and discovering the structures of the eye and retina and their function in good […]

Six years of high-volume outpatient ophthalmo-surgery (about 15,000 surgical cases) in the anterior and posterior segment are very demanding for a surgical platform. I have been lucky to be able to use the OS3/NovitreX® system by Oertli® over this time period and to be part of rapid developments in ophthalmo-surgery. Due to innovations such as […]

The demand for intraocular lenses (IOLs) pre-loaded in single-use sterile injectors is a logical step in the evolution of cataract surgery. The intention is not only to dispense with the surgeon or his/her assistant loading the IOL in a conventional injector, but also to directly implant the IOL inside the eye correctly and safely, reducing […]

Despite the progress in vitreoretinal surgery, the anatomical and functional results of severe ocular injuries involving the posterior segment are still discouraging. Perforating injuries and ruptures that exten posterior to the muscle insertions have the worst outcomes. When the secondary intervention is usually performed, between days seven and 14 post-trauma, it is not unusual for […]

Cataract surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation has become the most frequent type of surgical intervention in medicine. The success of this treatment is derived from several factors, such as surgical techniques, surgical tools, implant designs and peri-operative diagnostics. As high standards have been reached in cataract surgery, IOL implantation has become a safe and […]

The concept of non-penetrating glaucoma surgery (NPGS) originated in 1964 when Krasnov published his first report on sinusotomy.1 This operation consisted of removing a lamellar band of the sclera, opening the Schlemm’s canal over 120º from 10 to two o’clock. The inner wall of the Schlemm’s canal was untouched and the conjunctiva was closed. However, […]

Egress of aqueous humour out of the intraocular space occurs via two distinct pathways: conventional and uveoscleral. The conventional outflow pathway, which comprises the trabecular meshwork, Schlemm’s canal and, ultimately, the intra- and episcleral venous plexus, has traditionally been thought to account for the majority of aqueous outflow. The uveoscleral outflow pathway, which comprises the […]

Glaucoma is an irreversible ocular disease in which elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) leads to a slow degeneration of retinal ganglion cells and eventually to optic nerve death, or complete blindness if left untreated. Although several factors may contribute to advanced glaucoma, one primary cause is the eye’s inability to provide sufficient outflow for the aqueous […]

This article will concentrate on the performance of perforating keratoplasties (pKPL) using the Femtec® femtosecond laser (fs-laser) (20/10 Perfect Vision AG, Heidelberg, Germany) and on the non-circular decagonal transplant form, which we now use routinely in pKPL. At the end of this report, we will discuss our preliminary experience and results with instrastromal presbyopia correction. […]

In a recently published study,1 we proposed an objective method of measuring the refractive power change after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery. In common refractive practice, the differences in manifest refraction are used to calculate the refractive changes after corneal refractive procedures such as LASIK or laser-assisted epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK). Measurement of refraction error […]

Ocular nystagmus is a condition characterised by conjugate rhythmic and involuntary oscillations of the eyes, which may be pendular or jerky. Nystagmus may be either a physiological condition – such as the gaze-evoked nystagmus or optokinetic nystagmus – or a pathological condition. In the latter case, acquired or congenital pathological nystagmus with jerky, pendular or […]

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are a group of more than 50 inheritable disorders.1,2 Although individually rare, they collectively affect approximately one in 5,000 live births.3 Defective metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates or lipids resulting from deficiency of one of the many lysosomal enzymes leads to pathological accumulation of substances within the lysosomes. This lysosomal accumulation triggers […]

The structural properties of collagen framework in the corneal stroma determine the biomechanical and optical properties of tissue. Optimal corneal optics requires a smooth, regular surface with a healthy tear film and epithelium. The regular arrangement of stromal cells and macromolecules is necessary for clear vision. The lattice arrangement of collagen fibrils embedded in the […]

Although the post-operative correction of surgical aphakia with spectacles or contact lenses remains the standard of care, intraocular lenses (IOLs) have many advantages over both of these techniques. IOLs permit a better elimination of perceptual problems and reduce image size disparity. The implantation of an IOL behind the iris better preserves the anatomy of the […]

Implantation of phakic intraocular lenses (IOLs) has many advantages over keratorefractive procedures such as laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). In the treatment of high-degree myopia by LASIK, relatively large amounts of cornea must be ablated, small effective optical zones are created and the predictability and stability of the procedure begin to diminish.1,2 Furthermore, many refractive […]

It should be no surprise that oxygen plays an important role in the treatment of an ischaemic disease. Diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusions are ischaemic diseases, characterised by capillary nonperfusion and a lack of blood flow and oxygen. The ischaemic hypoxia stimulates the production of cytokines such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), resulting […]

In this article, the pathophysiological and clinical relevance of the evaluation of ocular surface temperature (OST) in the management of central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) will be discussed. First, an updated overview of the disease will be provided in order to establish a scientific background for the link between CRVO and OST. Second, the actual […]

Until recently, it seemed inconceivable to most vision researchers and ophthalmologists alike that there could be an unrecognised class of photoreceptor within the eye. After all, the eye was the best understood part of the central nervous system. One hundred and fifty years of intensive research had explained how we see: photons are detected by […]

Worsening vision is an almost inevitable consequence of ageing. Agerelated macular degeneration (AMD) in its advanced stage is the major cause of visual deterioration among the elderly of the industrialised world.1,2 Developing countries are rapidly closing the gap, and it is expected that in coming years the burden of AMD will dramatically increase in those […]

Amblyopia can be defined as the deficient development of brain vision during the first decade of human life, and is the topic of some excellent recent reviews.1–3 It remains a common cause of vision impairment in developed countries despite the fact that it is completely preventable and treatable. In some small-scale regional efforts in developed […]

Canon technology is utilised to increase workflow efficiency and patient throughput and reduce toxic waste during conventional photo development methods. Centred on the fascination of the spectrum of light, optics and digital sensor technology, Canon has developed a range of imaging products for healthcare specialists who require high quality images in digital radiography. Canon reinvented […]

There are currently more than 45 known lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). As a group, LSDs occur in approximately one in 5,000 live births. All LSDs share a common pathogenesis, i.e. a genetic defect in one or more specific lysosomal enzymes, activator protein or membrane protein, resulting in deficient enzymatic activity.2 If a specific enzyme is […]

German manufacturer Imedos, the pioneer of Retinal Vessel Analysis, is built on more than 20 years of research in this area. The company created new systems for the examination of micro-vascular vessels. This offers doctors new possibilities in the field of vascular eye diseases and in the assessment of micro-vascular risk factors and indicators of […]

For Oertli®, the trend towards smaller incisions has been a driving force for innovation for several years. Smaller incisions render surgical procedures less traumatic, offer faster recovery, reduce the risk of infection, render wounds more stable, simplify many steps in surgery and shorten the time of surgical procedures.