necessary if the condition does not respond to steroids.
In the aftermath of the TASS outbreak from several years ago, in
which unclean cannulas, phaco handpieces and other intraocular
instruments were identified as potential sources, the industry bene-
fited from a renewed emphasis on proper cleaning and sterilization.
To this day, following the recommendations crafted by the
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the
American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses can help surgi-
cal facilities take proactive steps to eliminate any future TASS out-
breaks (osmag.net/2GjdJA).
Predicting the unpredictable
Although conditions such as endophthalmitis and TASS have generat-
ed more than their fair share of headlines over the years — you might
say they warrant the attention, considering their potential to cause
severe damage to a patient's vision — there's a lesser known compli-
cation worth exploring: pseudophakic dysphotopsia.
Categorized as either positive or negative, dysphotopsias are com-
mon visual complaints that arise after in-the-bag IOL implantation. It's
almost impossible to predict which patients will be affected by these
conditions, and in fact they tend to occur in cases where a surgeon
performs the procedure without compromise in otherwise uncompli-
cated surgeries.
Positive dysphotopsias typically appear as arcs, halos or streaks of
light, while negative dysphotopsias are perceived as dark, crescent-
shaped shadows hovering in the temporal periphery of the visual field.
Of the latter, some patients have said the visual effect makes them
feels as if they're wearing horse blinders, or that they feel as though a
presence is standing beside them, but when they turn around they see
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