Ultralase surgeons present at international conferences
2008 has seen a number of laser eye surgery presentations by Ultralase surgeons at international ophthalmology conferences and publications, even before the year is one-third over, cementing an already strong reputation for class-leading clinical research.
Ophthalmologist Mark Wevill, who works in Ultralase's Birmingham clinic, presented a laser eye surgery study at an ophthalmology conference in St Moritz on 3rd March 2008. The study, notable for its high sample size, compared the results of wavefront Intralase1 (thin-flap) LASIK with wavefront LASEK2 using data from over 4,000 eyes treated at Ultralase clinics across the country. Mr Wevill described a number of outcome statistics: post-operative vision, prescription, safety and predicability. Results for both treatment types were excellent, with Intralase scoring higher in all categories in comparison with LASEK, justifying Ultralase's policy of using Intralase exclusively for LASIK laser eye surgery treatments.
Speaking after the conference, Mr Wevill commented, "The delegates were impressed with the number of patients and the quality of data in the study. I mentioned our Intralase safety results in the discussion period, which uses data from over 10,000 procedures. This impressed them all yet again." The small cohort of 22 delegates included such prestigious names such as Joseph Colin, Ioannis Pallikaris, John Vukich, Dave Hardten, Steve Schallhorn and Julian Stevens, in addition to representatives from AMO, the new owners of Intralase Corp.
The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) held their annual Winter Refractive Surgery Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, in February 2008. The ESCRS is Europe's leading organisation for cataract and refractive surgeons and is at the forefront of developments in anterior segment surgery. Ultralase were represented at the meeting by ophthalmologist Haralabos Eleftheriadis, who works in Ultralase's St Albans clinic, and Jay Dermott, training and clinical research manager, both of whom submitted posters and gave presentations of papers to several hundred surgeons from around the world.
Mr Eleftheriadis presented two papers3,4, detailing data drawn from patients from the St Albans clinic who had undergone wavefront Intralase LASIK laser eye surgery and wavefront LASEK for myopia. Jay Dermott spoke wavefront LASIK for hyperopia5, again using data from the St Albans clinic. All treatments were found to be safe, effective and accurate in correcting refractive error. Notably, Ultralase optometrists were credited as having contributed to the studies, reflecting the essential role of optometrists in post-operative data collection. In addition, two posters were exhibited6,7, which reflected the safe, effective and accurate results obtained by Ultralase for patients with astigmatism and those having undergone enhancement procedures. According to Jay Dermott, "There were a number of positive comments at the conference and exhibitions throughout the day." In total, Ultralase practitioners presented five studies to the highly-regarded ESCRS conference; the other high-volume UK laser eye surgery clinics presented one study between them.
The professional journal Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today Europe delivers cutting-edge information to cataract and refractive surgeons, and is read by nearly 6,000 physicians in Europe. Its January 2008 edition featured an article by Jay Dermott8, decribing the results obtained by Ultralase with Intralase LASIK on over 450 eyes. Of particular note was the suitability of the Intralase laser in a high-volume clinic setting, giving rapid stabilisation of post-operative vision, and high satisfaction levels amongst patients.
In summary, Ultralase have been active in presenting their clinical research to highly distinguished audiences in the first quarter of 2008, reinforcing their reputation for class-leading clinical research in the field of refractive surgery in the UK.
Martin Sharman, Optometrist and Publications Officer, Ultralase, April 2008
1 Advanced Medical Optics, Inc., Santa Ana, California
2 M Wevill - Comparison of Outcomes Between Thin-Flap LASIK and LASEK in a Multi-Surgeon, Multi-Centre Large Prescription-Matched Study; presentation, St Moritz, March 2008
3 H Eleftheriadis, B Sewak, R Gorcia, S Sharma, S Chana, A Möller - Wavefront LASIK with the Zyoptix Platform for Myopia up to 6 Dioptres with flaps created by Intralase Laser; free paper, ESCRS Barcelona, February 2008
4 H Eleftheriadis, J Shah, R Gorcia, S Sharma, S Chana, B Sewak - Wavefront Myopic LASEK with the Zyoptix Platform; free paper, ESCRS Barcelona, February 2008
5 J Dermott - Wavefront LASIK with the Zyoptix Platform for Hyperopia; free paper, ESCRS Barcelona, February 2008
6 H Eleftheriadis, J Blake, R Gorcia, S Sharma, S Chana, B Sewak - Non Wavefront LASIK Enhancement for Myopia Following Wavefront Myopic LASIK with the Zyoptix Platform; poster, ESCRS Barcelona, February 2008
7 J Dermott - Wavefront LASIK with the Zyoptix Platform for Mixed Astigmatism; poster, ESCRS Barcelona 2008
8 J Dermott - All-Laser LASIK in a High-Volume Laser Vision Chain; Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today Europe, January 2008, www.crseurope.com/pages/whicharticle.php?id=299
