================================================================= V I S I O N U P D A T E ================================================================= 22 May 2004 Issue #32 Promoting Health Through Knowledge Ted Roxan, Editor editor@visionupdate.net ================================================================= IN THIS ISSUE... 1. Feature Article Eye surgeon finds humidity to blame in some Lasik redos 2. Ask the Doctor Talking with the experts 3. News Briefs BOON TO BOOMERS: New eye surgery turns back aging 4. Relevant Links Important resources. 5. Preventative Medicine What they say about Vision Care ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Feature Article Eye surgeon finds humidity to blame in some Lasik redos Some people who undergo Lasik procedures find afterward that their vision isn't as sharp as they'd hoped. With their dreams of tossing away their glasses and contact lenses deferred, an estimated 10 percent must undergo follow-up procedures to fine-tune their sight. Now an eye surgeon in a region with extremely muggy summers says he's found a reason for some of the less-than-perfect results, at least among his own patients. Humidity in the operating room, and even outdoors, he says, may affect how well the laser procedure corrects vision. Keith Walter, an ophthalmologist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., noticed a few years ago that he was busy performing follow-up surgeries in November and December on patients who had undergone Lasik in summer. Suspicious that climatic conditions might be playing some role, he reviewed Lasik procedures he had performed on 368 eyes throughout 2000, analyzing a dozen potential influences, including the patient's age, sex, the curvature of the cornea and environmental factors such as indoor and outdoor humidity and temperature. The percentage of his surgeries requiring "enhancements," the term eye surgeons use for vision-correcting follow-ups, ranged from none in winter to 50 percent in September, when morning humidity in Winston-Salem peaks at 90 percent. Walter found that during drier months, he tended to overcorrect, leaving patients a bit farsighted. In humid months, he tended to undercorrect, leaving them still slightly nearsighted. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ASK THE DOCTOR SPONSOR The Homemaker`s Journal is an e-mail newsletter published Mon- Fri that poses fun questions to readers about organizing, crafting, gardening, frugal living and other homemaking subjects; readers can respond to the questions and receive the resulting, very informative `tip sheet`. Join the fun! http://www.getswap.com/subscribe.asp?list=2-7 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Ask the Doctor Talking with the experts Question from : jim mcgough How soon can you expect vision to return after corneal transplant? Dr. Webber: Full healing can take as long as a year, but after about a month as the cornea heals, you should notice improvement with glasses. Question from : mike i was recently poked in the eye by a small branch. the diameter was small and it poked into the center corner of my eye . i am curious as to whether or not i should worry about infection. will any infection, vision threatening or otherwise, be accompanied by discomfort? thanks for your help Dr. Webber: You should be concerned because the most common infection with tree branch injuries in a Fungal one. You should see your eye doctor for an evaluation and treatment if needed ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. News Briefs BOON TO BOOMERS: New eye surgery turns back aging It struck about 10 years ago when she couldn't make out the numbers in the telephone book. She also began holding menus at arms' length and stashed 10 pairs of reading glasses throughout her house so a pair was always within reach. Fed up, Hanna turned to what is sure to become the next hot hit in cosmetic eye surgery since LASIK, or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, burst onto the scene 10 years ago. Conductive keratoplasty surgery, known as CK, corrects the baby boomer disease presbyopia. The age-related ailment, the inability of the eye to focus sharply on nearby objects, usually strikes people older than 40. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late March approved the surgery as safe and effective. At a price between $1,500 and $2,500, the one-eye procedure could become another cash cow for the eye care industry. CK is less invasive than LASIK, which permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye. CK requires no knives, and no tissue is removed. It also takes less than 15 minutes. CK uses radio waves shot around the cornea's perimeter to shrink the underlying collagen bands that are found in cartilage, connective tissue and bone. The surgeon marks the perimeter of the cornea with rinsable dots, then follows the pattern with an instrument that has a small probe and focuses the radio waves. The radio waves heat the bands until they shrink, which forces the cornea to bulge forward. "You have a balloon and put a belt around one end of it and tighten, which causes the other end to bulge," Myers said. "That is why people are able to see more closely." Most patients see immediate improvement in their near vision but it can take a few weeks for both eyes' vision to blend. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter Courtesy of VisionUpdate http://visionupdate.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Relevant Links Important resources. National Eye Institute http://www.nei.nih.gov Eye Net http://myeyenet.com/ Blind Foundation http://www.afb.org Macular Degeneration Foundation http://www.eyesight.org LASIK Institute http://www.lasikinstitute.org NIH http://www.nih.gov ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Preventative Medicine What they say about Vision Care Eye conditions and diseases that can affect your vision may strike at any time in life. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends the following: * Treat contact lenses with respect. See an eye care professional and follow their instructions. Contact lenses that aren’t properly fitted or cleaned, or have been worn too long, can cause eye injuries, infections and even blindness. * Don’t smoke. Smoking is known to be a risk factor in retinal eye disease. * Toss old mascara. Bacteria that tends to grow in the mascara tube can lead to eye infections. * Give kids safe toys. Avoid games or toys with sharp or protruding parts or projectiles, and consider carefully before giving darts, pellet guns or other firearms. For more information about eye health care, visit the academy’s partner Web site, the Medem Network, at www.medem.com/eyemd. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CLASSIFIED AD **Discover A New Breakthrough In Compensation** Get your FREE TRIAL Membership NOW! We will have this offer for a very limited time! Get yours NOW! http://www.ezineblaze.com/index.php?73211 aol friends ----------------------------------------------------------------- CLASSIFIED AD Quick Humor for Quick Minds. Subscribe to Bruce H.G. 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