INTRAVITREAL INJECTIONS

This April, Medicare released physician reimbursement numbers showing totals of what doctors’ Medicare payments were for 2012. This brings up a number of concerns and confusion, which is not likely to help public perceptions of physicians (maybe that was the goal of this release?). Will this drive physicians to move toward non–Medicare-reimbursed techniques, or will it shed light on areas where there may be more opportunity for Medicare dollars? One area of high reimbursement is intravitreal injections. If you are thinking of adding these to your practice, check out the videos above.

RESURE SEALANT

Recently, the Resure Sealant (Ocular Therapeutix) was granted FDA approval and is now available for use in the US, labeled for use in cataract incisions. I just ordered a supply and recently had the opportunity to use it (off label) on a patient with a slipped LASIK flap to help ensure that the flap would not slip after repositioning. With the recent approval, I look forward to seeing videos posted on Eyetube with on- and off-label use of Resure Sealant; those below feature both regulatory and clinical discussions of this product.

TRULIGN TORIC IOL

Bausch + Lomb recently released the Trulign toric posterior chamber IOL, which allows for astigmatism correction and an extended depth of focus, with its foundation taken from the Crystalens accommodating IOL (Bausch + Lomb). In the following video, Cynthia Matossian, MD, shows a piggyback IOL being placed on top of the Trulign lens.

In theory, because the platform is based on a hinged optic, we may see situations in which refractive corrections are required to fine-tune the postoperative result. The lens sits with a posterior vault, thus it allows a perfect scenario for piggyback IOLs, as there is more room in the posterior chamber. Furthermore, this lens may be a great choice for high/low power extremes where a single toric IOL will not fully correct the sphere portion and a planned piggyback IOL is indicated.