At Press Time
Military Refractive Center Opens
Air Force and Army Share Expanded Facility.
By Jerry Helzner, Senior Editor
■ Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, is now the home of the first Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Warfighter Refractive Surgery Center. A greatly expanded facility, designed to serve both Air Force and Army personnel, opened in late summer.
With Lackland surgeons now capable of performing thousands of procedures each year, the Center's ability to provide substantial outcomes data on a variety of refractive procedures should enable the facility to play a more prominent role in refractive research.
The $2.7 million renovated facility now houses the most advanced technology available for refractive surgery with three temperature- and humidity-controlled laser suites and eight Air Force and Army surgeons.
"Every year the U.S. Air Force spends billions of dollars upgrading the capabilities of our weapons systems, like avionics on the F-16 or F-22," said Lt. Col. Charles Reilly, M.D., chief of the Joint Warfighter Refractive Surgery Center and consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General for refractive surgery. "The new laser ambulatory surgery center brings the latest state-of-the art technology to allow us to upgrade the avionics of our most important weapons system — our people."
Lt. Col. Charles Reilly, M.D., performs LASIK on an airman at new state-of-theart Lackland AFB refractive center.
PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. AIR FORCE
The center is not all about surgery, however. It is also a hub of education and research within the DOD and the medical community as a whole. Because of the large number of refractive procedures performed at Lackland, the facility's ophthalmologists have been major contributors to research into refractive outcomes. In one large study whose results were presented at the 2006 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting, Lackland surgeons compared outcomes achieved through LASIK surgery to outcomes that were the result of LASEK procedures. They concluded that both types of surgeries are attractive options for the correction of myopia.
The facility is the only Air Force center with a certified physician trainer for laser refractive surgery and has also initiated a program with the University of Texas' Health Science Center to train civilian ophthalmology residents in refractive surgery.
"The capabilities we have here are extraordinary," Lt. Col. Reilly says. "This facility not only makes us the first (refractive center) in DOD, but we are now among the best refractive surgery centers in the world."
GIVING BACK:
Volunteering Is a Family Affair
Dr. Marks, His Wife and Sons Pitch in to Help Nepalese.
By Jerry Helzner, Senior Editor
■ It is quite common to see a husband-and-wife team go on medical missions together. Steven J. Marks, M.D., has taken it a step further by getting his wife and two young sons involved in bringing better eye care to the people of Nepal.
Dr. Marks, 45, a retina specialist at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., fell in love with Nepal after spending a week in that mountainous Himalayan country while doing a medical school rotation in India.
"Even then, I had it in mind that I would like to come back to Nepal at some point on a volunteer medical mission," says Dr. Marks.
The opportunity to participate in such a mission came about through unusual circumstances.
"We were in New York City and happened to see a store called The Himalayan Gift Shop," he recalls. "While talking to the owner, I mentioned that I was an ophthalmologist and interested in volunteering in Nepal. The owner said his brother was a physician in Nepal who could possibly put me in touch with an ophthalmologist there. He gave me his brother's e-mail address."
The ophthalmologist who Dr. Marks eventually contacted was Sanduk Ruit, M.D., the much-honored director of the Tilganga Eye Hospital in Katmandu, Nepal. Dr. Ruit and Geoff Tabin, M.D., of the Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah, have been the driving forces behind the Himalayan Cataract Project, which was formed in 1994 to save the sight of the large numbers of Nepalese who are afflicted with cataracts because of their constant exposure to direct sunlight.
"Dr. Ruit basically said 'come on over,'" says Dr. Marks.
For the past 2 years, Dr. Marks, his wife, Becky, a trained ophthalmic photographer, and their two sons, Randy, 10, and Sean, 7, have spent most of February in Nepal. Dr. Marks has worked at Tilganga and the remote eyecare camps associated with the hospital, while Becky has taught ophthalmic photography at the Tilganga facility. She has also pitched in at the English-speaking school in Katmandu where the couple's two sons are enrolled during the family's stay in Nepal.
Nepalese patients relax after having cataracts removed.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN J. MARKS, M.D.
As a retina specialist, Dr. Marks is helping to bring an added dimension to Tilganga's capabilities.
"I have been working with the retina doctor at Tilganga to determine the prevalence of retinal disease in Nepal," says Dr. Marks. "We do see a lot of diabetes and diabetes-related eyecare problems in the urban areas of the country. That could have something to do with greater adoption of western foods and lifestyles."
Dr. Marks returned to Tilganga for 2 weeks last month to begin a major project to screen the rural population of Nepal for retinal disease.
"We believe the incidence will be lower in the rural areas, where the diet is primarily vegetarian, but we are not sure what we will find in regard to diseases such as AMD," says Dr. Marks. "It is exciting because we will be creating new data."
So strong is the entire Marks family's commitment to Nepal that earlier this year young Randy suggested that he and his father make a 100-mile charity bike trip across Rhode Island to raise money to purchase ophthalmic equipment needed at Tilganga.
"When I asked him why he picked Rhode Island, he said it was because it's a small state and we could probably make it across," laughs Dr. Marks.
The 5-day trip on a tandem bicycle was completed successfully in July, with younger son Sean making a portion of the trip as well. The $20,000 in proceeds has been used to purchase an A-scan, keratometer, indirect ophthalmoscope and portable vitrectomy machine.
As part of what he calls his "long-term commitment" to Nepal, Dr. Marks will expand his efforts by taking the two Geisinger third-year ophthalmology residents to Nepal in February.
| IN THE NEWS |
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| ■ Alcon wins WaveLight. Carl Zeiss Meditec (CZM), which had recently acquired 5% of the outstanding stock of WaveLight AG, has dropped the possibility of making a bid for the excimer laser company and will tender its shares to Alcon. CZM purchased its shares after Alcon made its initial bid for WaveLight, creating speculation that CZM would make a competing offer for WaveLight. Alcon recently received approval from German regulatory authorities to proceed with its offer. On Sept. 18, Alcon announced that it already had commitments for more than 70% of WaveLight stock and expected more shares to be tendered as a result of CZM's recent announcement that it would not be making an offer for WaveLight. WaveLight is best known for developing the Allegretto laser system for use in refractive surgery. The Allegretto laser has a global installed base of more than 800 units. ■ World Glaucoma Day. Robert Ritch, M.D., professor and chief of glaucoma services at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEEI), co-founder of the World Glaucoma Patient Association, and member of the steering committee for the World Glaucoma Association, said that March 6, 2008, will mark the first-ever World Glaucoma Day. NYEEI will be actively involved in conducting professional education activities as well as awareness campaigns for the general public and glaucoma patients. "For every diagnosed glaucoma patient there is an undiagnosed one," says Dr. Ritch. "And because glaucoma is a progressive disease, causing irreversible vision loss without warning until relatively advanced, the need for awareness, advocacy and prevention is urgent." ■ Will Nestlé divest Alcon? Rumors have recently been swirling that food and confectionery giant Nestlé is studying the possibility of selling off its 77.5% ownership stake in Alcon, which could add more than $30 billion to Nestlé's coffers. The rumors were touched off when Nestlé CFO Paul Polman said that he viewed Alcon more as a financial investment than part of the strategic core of the company. Polman's words took on particular importance as his influence on the company's future direction is widely thought to be growing with the impending retirement of Nestlé's current CEO, Peter Brabeck. Analysts say Polman believes Nestlé could use the proceeds of an Alcon sale to grow its food businesses and also to buy back its own shares. Alcon has been an excellent investment for Nestlé, which bought the eyecare company in 1977 when Alcon's annual sales were approximately $80 million. The company expects to record approximately $5.4 billion in sales this year. In 2003, Nestlé sold approximately 25% of its stake in the company for more than $2 billion through an initial public offering at $33 a share. Alcon stock recently traded near $140 a share. By all accounts, Nestlé has been a benign and nurturing parent. Alcon has been able to operate as a quasi-independent company under the Nestlé umbrella, probably because Nestlé senior management is made up of "food people" who understand that they do not possess the specialized, day-to-day knowledge required to operate and grow a major vision care business. |
| WORTH NOTING |
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| ■ Munnerlyn wins Land Medal. Charles Munnerlyn, Ph.D., the founder of VISX and widely considered "The Father of Laser Vision correction," has been awarded the prestigious Edwin H. Land Medal by the Optics Society of America and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology. The award, established in 1992 and named for the founder of the Polaroid Company, is given for creative achievement in the areas of optics, vision, imaging or creative use of light. ■ Change at Ophthonix. Andreas Dreher, Ph.D., co-founder, chief technology officer and chairman of the board of customized lens maker Ophthonix, has announced his resignation. He will remain as a consultant to the company. Steve Osbaldeston, current CEO, will assume the role of chairman of the board in addition to his other duties. Ophthonix manufactures and markets the patented Z-View Aberrometer and iZon high-resolution spectacle lenses. ■ AMO names DeRisio. Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) has announced the appointment of Richard J. DeRisio to vice president, global regulatory affairs. DeRisio will oversee development and execution of worldwide regulatory strategies for AMO's new and existing products, which are sold in more than 70 countries. "We are pleased to welcome aboard Richard, as he brings to AMO more than 25 years of regulatory and professional management experience in the medical device industry," said AMO Executive Vice President, Research and Development, Leonard Borrmann. ■ Ellex names Harris. Ellex Medical Lasers Limited, a designer and manufacturer of ophthalmic laser and ultrasound systems, has appointed Christin Harris as vice president of U.S. Sales to lead its sales expansion in the United States. Harris joins Ellex with more than 20 years of sales and sales management experience in the ophthalmic device industry. She has held various positions for the past 11 years at Lumenis and its predecessor, Coherent Medical. OM |
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