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Thank you very much for taking the time to sign up for the No Blur! EyeMail Newsletter. The No Blur! EyeMail Newsletter is sent out approximately four times per year. The newsletter will contain the most recent developments in eyecare today, interesting information about your eyes, as well as a fun item. You can view the previous No Blur! EyeMails by clicking the online archive icon above. You can also send any comments or suggestions about the No Blur! EyeMail down in the related links section below.

 
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A Message From Dr. Maller

My particular eye care interests have, over the years of practice, driven my practice to focus on care for the irregular cornea. Early in practice this constituted providing care for conditions like Keratoconus and Pellucids Marginal Degeneration. Additionally, after having a corneal transplant or some type of traumatic incident, many people would seek out my services. The last grouping of individuals needing care that I was providing, although small, were the people who unfortunately did not do very well after a refractive surgical procedure. As the years have passed, I have noticed that there has been a significant shift in the numbers of individuals making up each of the above categories. In my practice currently, the post refractive surgical patients comprise the largest group of individuals for whom I provide care. Their problems range from mildly annoying to totally debilitating. Some are bothered by glare, haloes, and starbursts. Some have chronically irritated red eyes. Some have lost their ability to drive. Some have lost jobs and/or careers because they no longer can see well enough to perform the required tasks. Some are clinically depressed. More than a few have confided in me that they have considered suicide. Many of these people have sought care from a multitude of doctors only to be told that there is no solution to their problems. The combination of lost wages, lost independence and a great deal of medical/surgical care following the initial refractive surgical procedure have left many of these people in a financial strait jacket. Since their problems are very involved, they require many visits and I therefore get to know these people rather well. A common statement from almost everyone of these individuals is something to the effect "If I had known that these types of complications were a possibility I never would have even considered having an elective refractive surgical procedure." This is a statement that, as a physician, really bothers me. It means that these people were inadequately informed prior to their choice of an elective surgery. If you, or family or friends are seriously considering a refractive surgical procedure, I implore you to "do your homework." before surgery. There is a huge volume of information on the FDA website concerning refractive surgery. Most people do well with the current refractive surgeries available but unfortunately the people who do not do well can have their lives changed in ways they can't even imagine. This information all needs to be considered before an irreversible refractive surgical procedure is performed.

Dr. Maller

 

Counterfeit Contacts

Alternative distribution of contact lenses through avenues other than a physician's office in the United States include discount price clubs, internet sales, beauty shops, etc. For some time now it has been seen that these alternative avenues will place profit and the rules of capitalism ahead of patient safety. Now in addition to these patient safety concerns there is a new danger in town. One of the discount contact lens distributors was found to be selling counterfeit lenses. These lenses were portrayed as "name brand" lenses but were in fact not from that lens manufacturer. Since contact lenses are properly regulated by the federal government exactly for the reason that there exists inherent danger to the general public from contact lenses, never before in contact lens history do the words "Let the buyer beware" hold a more resounding warning.

 

Combined LASIK and INTACS surgery

A recent study looked at the results of a combined refractive surgery for moderate to high myopes using LASIK and INTACS. The study looked at the variance in results between first performing a LASIK procedure and following with INTACS or implanting the INTACS prior to doing the LASIK procedure. The results showed a small but definite advantage to doing the LASIK prior to the implanting of the INTACS.

 

Symptoms And Signs Of Dry Eye

Patients report symptoms. Physicians observe signs. When the symptoms reported by the patient match the signs observed by the physician, the physician can correctly diagnose and treat the problem. What happens when the symptoms reported don't match the signs observed? A recent report looked at this very problem relating to dry eye. There is apparently a large discrepancy between what patients report and physicians observe when it comes to this complex clinical entity. There does not seem to be any clinical test that currently exists to show signs of dry eye that match the patient complaints. This is probably the reason this is such a difficult condition to manage. There is currently a great deal of clinical research aimed at this condition we refer to as "dry eye."

 

Optic Nerve Regeneration

In a report released in Journal of Cell Science, for the first time, researchers were able to regenerate optic nerve tissue in laboratory mice. It is still not really understood why mature optic nerve tissue is incapable of regeneration but the researchers came up with a mouse model that included the manipulation of specific genes. By manipulating these genes, the optic nerve tissue returned to an embryonic state which then was followed by rapid regeneration of the tissue. The functionality of this regenerated tissue has not yet been determined but this research has very significant future implications to restore vision to people that have been blinded by an optic nerve disease such as glaucoma.

 

Wearing Soft Contact Lenses While Swimming

Often I am asked by patients about swimming while wearing soft contact lenses. Although I am quick to point out that loss of the lens can easily occur, I also comment about the risk of infection increasing. Reports in the past have indicated that swimming with contact lenses seem to be linked to a subsequent eye infection. A recent study took a look at this very issue. The test subjects wore soft contact lenses during 30 minutes of swimming in a chlorinated pool. The results of the study clearly indicated that regardless of the type of soft contact lens material used, bacteria will colonize both on and in the contact lens. This shows that risk of infection is increased by this activity and recommendations to wear tight fitting goggles for swimming and disinfection of the lenses after this activity would be an advisable course of action to limit the risk of a serious eye infection.

 

Just For Fun - Optical Illusions

Sometimes while on the web, I will come across some item that is just fun. I have incorporated this into the website because everyone should have a little fun occasionally. I have decided to put at least one "fun" thing into each newsletter. I hope that you enjoy it. This particular item is a large group of optical illusions. Optical illusions all take advantage of the way visual information is processed and then presents something that confuses the normal informational pathway processing. Some of these you may recognize and some may be brand new for you. In either case, they are a lot of fun. Please be patient with the download as it is a rather large page that has many graphic images. You can find it at Optical Illusions.