Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Going Green for the Greater Good - March 2020 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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Eyedrops remain the most common form of medication delivery but that doesn't mean they provide the most benefit to patients, who often struggle to complete prescribed regi- mens. "Confusion is more of an issue than compliance," says Richard Hoffman, MD, clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. "We instruct patients to apply post-op drops four times a day until their follow-up visit, and direct them to stop only the antibi- otic drops after day five. Some patients have instead stopped applying all of the drops by the time they come to the clinic." The movement toward dropless cataract surgery continues. "It's exciting to see industry understand that post-op drop regimens are a problem that needs to be solved and is taking steps to develop solu- tions that reduce or even eliminate the number of drops patients need to administer after surgery," says Dr. Hovanesian. Dropping drops Two sustained-release formulations hold the promise of eliminating the need for patients to apply a topical steroid. Dexamethasone intraocular suspension is administered into the ciliary sulcus at the end of cataract surgery after the viscoelastic has been removed from the eye. Following injection, the steroid suspen- sion becomes a white liquid sphere in the anterior chamber and slowly dissolves to deliver a steady dose over the course of a month. The suspension has a good safety profile and doesn't increase the risk of intraocular pressure spikes when compared with topical dex- amethasone, according to Dr. Hovanesian. M A R C H 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 9 5 It's exciting to see industry understand that post-op drop regimens are a problem that needs to be solved. — John Hovanesian, MD

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