Brandon Rodriguez
St. Luke’s Cataract & Laser Institute, USA
Title: Utilization of amniotic membrane grafting for the optimization of the ocular surface prior to refractive cataract surgery
Biography
Biography: Brandon Rodriguez
Abstract
The single largest generation and most affluent demographic in America, the “Baby Boomers” (Americans born between 1946 to 1964), will age into the need for refractive cataract surgery at a patient volume never experienced before. These are the same patients that have numerous ocular co-morbidities, such as dry eye syndrome. These demanding patients will want immediate gratification, not only visually, but symptomatically. Amniotic membrane grafts (AMG) have shown in a non-comparative study that up to 95% of individuals have complete resolution of their dry eye surface related changes within 5-7 days vs. almost 300 days on medical treatment alone. More recently, the same group, in a multi-center study has shown a change in the axis of astigmatism, after treatment with AMG, of up to 20 degrees. Post-operatively that would translate into a 60% reduction in the power of the intraocular lens and a significantly unhappy patient. The purpose of this discussion is to show data supporting the use of AMG for the optimization of the ocular surface for the demanding refractive cataract surgery and dry eye patient.