Corneal Physician Symposium to Provide Attendees with Cutting-Edge Education

Now, in its third year, the Corneal Physician Symposium, an online, one-day meeting focused exclusively on the cornea, and taking place November 19, is set to provide attendees with lasting knowledge garnered from 4 Medical and 4 Surgical sessions presented by highly regarded and recognized corneal specialists.

Specifically, at the meeting’s end, attendees will have the knowledge to:

• Identify the preoperative diagnostic and treatment algorithm for ocular surface disease (OSD), evaluate the impact of glaucoma therapy on the ocular surface, and recognize the most appropriate therapeutic option for patients suffering from OSD.
• Describe how to diagnose and treat neuropathic eye pain, neurotrophic keratitis, and the role of immunosuppression and systemic treatments for anterior segment surgery.
• Describe the current state of topography-guided and wavefront-guided laser vision correction in the United States, and to examine the future of laser vision correction.
• Describe the current diagnostic tools, treatment protocols, and outcomes for corneal cross-linking.
• Recognize and understand the surgical techniques for challenging cases, including endothelial keratoplasty, techniques for combined corneal surgery, coupled with complex cataract surgery and ocular surface reconstruction.
• Learn the most up-to-date diagnostic and treatment approaches to infectious keratitis.

For additional information and to register for this year’s Corneal Physician Symposium, visit www.cornealphysician.com/corneal-physician-symposium .

COVID-19 Vaccination May be Linked with Acute Corneal Graft Rejection

Patients who undergo a COVID-19 vaccination near the time of their corneal transplant may be at an increased risk for graft rejection, according to a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.¹

Specifically, the study showed the time between vaccination and graft rejection ranged from 1 day to 6 weeks, with corneal edema as the number one sign, followed by keratic precipitates, and conjunctival or ciliary injection.

Additionally, the median (interquartile range) age at graft rejection onset was 68, and the types of corneal transplants were Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty, Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty, and living-related conjunctival-limbal allograft.

The study’s researchers arrived at these findings by performing an online search of both the PubMed and EMBASE databases to acquire information on corneal graft recipients’ characteristics, type of corneal transplant, the amount of time between COVID-19 vaccination and allograft rejection, the clinical manifestations of the rejection, and the type of graft rejection medication used. Their source material: A total of 13 articles, published between April 2021 and December 2021, on 21 patients (23 eyes) who had acute corneal graft rejection after COVID-19 vaccination.

Reference:

1. J Clin Med. 2022 Aug 2;11(15):4500.

Vision Award Given to Two Doctors for Corneal Disease Research and Treatment

The António Champalimaud Vision Award, which recognizes work created by institutions in the prevention of and fight against blindness and vision disorders, primarily in developing countries, was given to Gerrit Melles, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands, and Claes Dohlman, MD, PhD, of Sweden, for their “groundbreaking research and treatment of corneal diseases,” which has resulted in vision restoration for millions of people, while also preventing future blindness in others, according to a press release issued by the Champalimaud Foundation.

Specifically, Dr. Melles was recognized for revolutionizing the surgical treatment of corneal disease by creating alternative approaches, such as Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty, that have greatly advanced visual rehabilitation, and decreased the risk of complications over the last 20 years. He practices at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery in Rotterdam (NIIOS).

“I think it is a great boost for our entire NIIOS team, our (former) fellows, our course participants, and all our colleagues who visited us in Rotterdam in the past 20 years,” Dr. Melles told Corneal Physician.

For his part, Dr. Dohlman was given the award for his long-term research that led to the creation of the Boston KPro artificial cornea, especially designed for patients whose eyes were too damaged to benefit from a traditional donor transplant. He practices at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Dohlman could not be reached for comment.

The António Champalimaud Vision Award, worth 1 million Euros, which equates to roughly $1 million, was launched in 2006 and is supported by the World Health Organization’s “Vision 2020 – The Right to Sight” program. The award jury is made up of international scientists and prominent public figures involved in the fight against problems in developing countries, the organization says.