CollaborativeEYE

Advances in IOL optics, materials, and technology are reducing patients’ reliance on glasses after cataract surgery,1,2 thereby improving their overall quality of life. Optometrists play a vital role in patient education, candidate selection, and postoperative management. Having a comprehensive understanding of current lens offerings allows ODs to provide better guidance on postoperative expectations and trade-offs and, as a result, increase patients’ long-term satisfaction.

The most important aspect of effective screening is to simply keep keratoconus and its warning signs top of mind any time there is an unexpected change in refraction or a patient’s VA is worse than 20/20. When you send a referral, include all available records that may help the other doctor document changes over time if it is determined the patient has keratoconus.

Glaucoma is a complex disease to diagnose and manage. It’s all about controlling risk factors and monitoring progression over time. Traditionally, topical drops have been the go-to for first-line therapy, and although modern medications work well, they rely on patient adherence. One thing I’ve learned over the years regarding adherence is that patients with glaucoma often stretch the truth about how well they stick to their drop regimen.

In this review of eye embryology, we explain in detail the stages of development of various ocular structures. Understanding the development of the human eye in utero helps us as eye care providers to better understand the multitude of ocular pathologies we treat and diagnose every day in our clinics. Understanding ocular anatomy and embryology provides important insights into the complex ocular pathologies eye care providers diagnose and treat every day.

Navigating the care of patients with cataracts and underlying retinal disease requires careful assessment and consideration, and optometrists play a crucial role throughout the process. In this article, we explore the complexities involved in patient selection for cataract surgery, the role of diagnostic imaging, IOL options, and potential postoperative complications.

Keratoconus is the most common type of corneal ectasia.1 Classically, it is characterized by progressive corneal steepening and thinning that is asymmetrical between eyes; visual impairment eventually ensues due to increasing irregular astigmatism, higher-order aberrations, and/or corneal scarring.2 Patients with keratoconus may experience earlier onset of cataract-related visual symptoms, which may be confounded by their underlying ectatic condition.

Monofocals are the most commonly implanted IOLs. It’s important to counsel patients that, although multifocal and trifocal IOLs provide considerable convenience, they can sometimes lead to optical side effects, such as halos around lights at night. By becoming experts in IOL technology, optometrists can play a significant role in their patients’ lives, provide them with informed choices, and ultimately ensure the best possible vision following their cataract surgery.

Intravitreal injections (IVIs) made their debut in the eye care world in 2004 with the approval of pegaptanib sodium (Macugen, Eyetech/Pfizer) for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

In our tertiary care setting at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, we evaluate and treat patients with pediatric keratoconus every day. But for those in primary care practices, this sight-threatening disease is seen or detected much more rarely, and it can be tough to know when a referral is warranted. The short answer is that there is no such thing as an unnecessary referral.

Patients with high myopia who are interested in spectacle or contact lens independence often visit our practice to inquire about LASIK. Many of them, however, are not interested in the procedure specifically, but instead in a specific result. That is, high-quality vision achieved safely and predictably. They do not want to choose from a list of procedures.