October 15, 2006

Features

12th Annual Glaucoma Report

The Dollars and Sense of Glaucoma Technology

Discover which glaucoma instruments are necessary for appropriate patient care and the best investments for your practice.

Case Report

Did Heart Surgery Cause NAION?

Patient’s severe vascular disease, reduced hemoglobin level and history of smoking may have contributed to his condition.

Does Patient with Lupus Have Plaquenil Retinopathy?

Early RPE mottling reveals corneal verticillata O.S. and suspected hydroxychloroquine maculopathy O.D.

Diagnostic Technology

A New Measure Of Corneal Strength

Corneal hysteresis measures biomechanical strength of the cornea. Here’s how it fits in with existing technology.

Instrument Purchases: The Patient Comes First

O.D.s surveyed say patient care is their top consideration when investing in technology, but they cannot ignore business realities either.

Will This Instrument Pay for Itself?

Here’s how to accurately calculate and track your return on investment for equipment purchases.

Employee Management

14 Tips to Better Employees

Effective performance reviews can lead to better employees. These tips can help.

Genetics

Your Role in Diagnosing Retinal Dystrophies

Discoveries about genetic retinal diseases will continue to guide the way in which you diagnose and manage these patients.

Patient Care

A Rivalry Between Two AMD Drugs

Approved this summer, the anti-VEGF agent Lucentis will compete against its off-label cousin Avastin for the AMD market.

GPC: Don’t Call it An Allergic Reaction

Giant papillary conjunctivitis, though categorized as allergic ocular disease, really is a reaction to irritation. Knowing this aids diagnosis and management.

Set Realistic Goals For Low-Vision Care

Pay attention to the whole person, not just the vision loss, and find out what the patient wants to achieve.

Rare Can Still End Up in Your Chair

Consider these three rare systemic diseases before making a definitive diagnosis.

Practice Transitions

Practice Transitions Series: Growth Mode

Mid-career optometrists identify different paths to success, but continued growth is the key to staying competitive and motivated.

Welcome To the Real World

Optometrists on the path to private practice face financial, personal and entrepreneurial challenges in their first five years as professionals.

An Eye On the Future

Optometry school students must focus on career goals while getting through boards and making important choices in their personal lives at the same time.

Departments

Chairside

A King Must Have a Throne

You think a sophisticated doctor like me is above a little toilet humor? Think again.

Don’t Worry, I’m Just Like You

I am an average optometrist. The whole point of this column over the past 15 years is to produce evidence that we optometrists are all the same.

No Cussing on the Tennis Court!

This month, the Chairside World Tour makes stops in New Mexico, at a wedding, at a graduation and on a #@$%^&! tennis court.

Clinical Quandaries

Take a New Shot at Shingles

A new vaccine can reduce both the incidence and severity of herpes zoster by more than half.

Aids to Glaucoma Compliance

Compliance with glaucoma therapy is an insidious and difficult problem. A few new devices may help remind patients to take their drops.

If Patient Faints, Be Laid Back

What do you do when a patient passes out in your office? Lay the patient back to restore blood and oxygen to the brain.

Cornea and Contact Lens Q & A

Choose Artificial Cornea First?

Should I recommend a full-thickness graft or a keratoprosthesis?

Place Teen in Extended Wear?

If so, how do I minimize the legal and clinical risks when prescribing for this noncompliant patient?

Diagnostic Quiz

Glaucoma Grand Rounds

Keep Your Eye on the Target

Set your target IOP early (and reassess periodically) to facilitate long-term treatment.

Now You See Her, Now You Don’t

How you handle ‘the case of the disappearing patient’ will have implications on how the patient responds to treatment.

Meetings and Conferences

News Review

Outlook

Can You Relate?

Although it’s rare, refractive surgery can go wrong. When it does, your reaction to your patient’s emotional responses can be just as important as your future treatment plan.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Review is making it an annual tradition to share our summer vacation with you.

Practice Transitions

In this exciting new series, we’ll follow O.D.s through the various stages of their careers and gather pearls from practice management experts on how to successfully navigate each new challenge.

Product Review

Retina Quiz

Diagnosis is on the Line

Pigmented and nonpigmented demarcation lines in both eyes hold the clues to this patient’s condition

Exudate Hints at Diagnosis

But, do obvious macular changes and fluorescein angiography findings suggest more than one disease process in this patient?

Is It a Family Thing?

Patient whose brother had ‘eye problem’ shows absence of foveal reflex and other peculiar changes.

Therapeutic Review

Something for 'Nothing' (Part 1)

A common, benign condition should not be brushed off. There’s always something you can do for “nothing.”

When Uveitis Is Unruly

Look to oral and/or injectable steroids, immunomodulatory agents and immunosuppressive drugs.

Treating Kids Who Have Glaucoma

What do you do medically when children have glaucoma?