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(Kingston, ON, May 28, 2012) Two ophthalmologists at Hotel Dieu Hospital and Queen’s University have scored top awards for research studies geared to enhancing the safety and comfort of surgery for eye patients.
For the second year in a row, pediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Brian Arthur has received a "Best in Show" award at the annual meeting of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the largest yearly gathering of pediatric eye clinicians and researchers in the world.
Arthur picked up a blue ribbon for his laboratory study investigating the clinical feasibility of swapping traditional sutures in eye surgery for an adhesive material that ensures muscles adhere to the eye during strabismus (“lazy eye”) surgery.
“The cyanoacrylate adhesive is a form of Krazy Glue,” says Arthur. “Using it during surgery would mean we don’t have to use needles to attach a muscle to the eye, which would eliminate the risk of perforating the eye with the needle. That doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it can result in blindness.”
The new adhesive technique could be applicable in about 70 to 80 per cent of eye muscle surgeries, says Arthur, potentially making it a prime tool for reassuring patients about the safety of their eye procedure.
Dr. David Almeida has been awarded First Prize in the Canadian Ophthalmological Society Excellence in Ophthalmic Research competition for a study investigating the use of anti-inflammatory eye drops by patients before and after cataract surgery.
In a two-year clinical trial at Hotel Dieu, Almeida demonstrated no significant benefit in using the eye drops in patients who had no surgical complications and no risk factors for retinal swelling.
“The results will help to inform the debate about using non-inflammatory drugs in certain patient populations for cataract surgery,” says Almeida, a fourth-year resident.
“Extra eye drops means extra cost and difficulty for patients—and in this case—the benefits don’t seem to be worth it. This research will help us to define the most appropriate perioperative medications for patients undergoing routine cataract surgery.”
The study also won the Best Paper of Session award for Intraocular Surgery Medications when it was presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois this past April.
Arthur’s study was co-authored by Dr. Mark Bona and Karim Rahim. Almeida’s study was co-authored by Zainab Khan, Lin Xing, Shahrukh Bakar, Karim Rahim, Todd Urton and Sherif El-Defrawy.
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