New Orleans Academy of Ophthalmology Convention

Recently I attended a convention in New Orleans that concentrated on retinal and corneal issues facing ophthalmologists today. Of course, my interest falls to the retina side, always has! There was much discussion regarding macular degeneration and the courses of treatment for this very destructive disease. There was a lot of talk about diabetic retinopathy as well. Ophthalmologists are gaining ground on both and it is very exciting for them to talk about. Very little was mentioned about macular holes. Why? Because not much is happening to change the course of treatment. The old SOP was to do the vitrectomy, maybe peel off a membrane covering the macular area then have all patients assume the face down position for at least two weeks. Now, the SOP is do the vitrectomy, maybe use some dye to visualize the membrane better before doing the peel, then have the patient remain face down for a week. Not nearly as exciting to discuss as all the new injectables available for those poor souls with macular degeneration. There are some surgeons using oil occasionally instead of gas. Benefit: positioning is not as essential. Con: You have to go back into the OR to remove the oil at some time down the road.

Here is the silver lining. Not much is changing in the treatment of macular holes because what surgeons are doing now works. It works! The success rate of the surgery is high, even higher if patient compliance is good.