BJO at a glance
SHOULD CATARACT SURGERY BE PERFORMED ON PATIENTS WITH MACULAR DEGENERATION?
A substantial number of patients undergoing cataract extraction have coexisting macular degeneration. The question might be asked whether these operations are justified. A study from Sweden from six surgical departments documents that patients with dry age related macular degeneration who underwent cataract surgery showed significant improvements in daily life activities that had been difficult before surgery. Moreover, satisfaction with vision also improved. Activity level and independence were unchanged. The most important predictor of a good self assessed functional outcome was postoperative visual acuity. This paper does not address the question of whether a cataract extraction may worsen macular degeneration. See p 1330
SYSTEMIC ANTI-INFLAMMATORY THERAPY RESCUES FAILING TRABECULECTOMY BLEBS
Despite a number of advances in surgical technique and local anti-inflammatory fibrosis suppression, trabeculectomy bleb failure still happens far too often. Molteno and colleagues describe a prospective, non-comparative case series of 77 …
