MINI WELL^® A Better Vision

Highlights from the Milan 2017 SIFI User Meeting

09/06/2017

Presbyopia correction should be one of the biggest markets in eyecare. Presbyopia is the most common refractive disorder in people aged 40 years and over, and it’s a very noticeable sign of aging: reaching for the reading glasses when you never had to before. Many people undergoing cataract surgery – the most commonly performed elective surgical procedure in the developed world – also want to be spectacle-free after the procedure. In both cases, exchanging the natural crystalline lens with a multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) can give these patients what they desire – and it’s clear that there’s a growing market for multifocal IOLs for both refractive lens exchange (RLE) and in “premium” cataract surgery for “Generation Xchange.” Advances in IOL optic designs and improvements in biometry, aberrometry and the introduction of femtosecond laserassisted cataract surgery (FLACS) has helped increase the adoption of these lenses, as well as patients’ refractive outcomes. However, the market isn’t nearly as large as it could be – and part of the reason for this could be due to some of the drawbacks associated with what might be termed “traditional” IOL designs with diffractive optics or that include apodization – principally photic phenomena. What this means is you have to be very careful with patient selection – in terms of both physical and mental inclusion and exclusion criteria – to ensure you have a happy patient after the surgery. This definitely limits the market. Could a more advanced IOL design minimize these drawbacks and expand the market? The first SIFI MINI WELL® Users’ Conference was convened against this background. Thirteen leading cataract surgeons, led by Vittorio Picardo, came together in Milan in May 2017 to discuss these issues and more.

Panel

Giovanni Alessio, Department of Ophthalmology,University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Gerd U. Auffarth Department of Ophthalmology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Andrea Bedei, “San Rossore” Medical Center, Pisa, Italy.
Roberto Bellucci, Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital and University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Claudio Carbonara, Primavista Eye Clinic, Rome, Italy.
Marko Hawlina, Eye Surgery Centre Portorož, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Ozana Moraru, Centrul Oftalmologic “Oculus”, Bucharest, Romania.
Cristian Moraru, Centrul Oftalmologic “Oculus”, Bucharest, Romania.
Eugene Ng, Institute of Eye Surgery, Waterford, Ireland.
Vittorio Picardo, Nuova Itor Clinic, Rome, Italy
Nicola Passarelli, Centro Oculistico Firenze, Florence, Italy.
Scipione Rossi, San Carlo di Nancy Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Giacomo Savini, GB Bietti Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Petra Schollmayer, Eye Surgery Centre Portorož,Ljubljana, Slovenia.

This supplement reflects the opinions and experiences of meeting participants in Milan on May 25, 2017. Data presented are representative of each participating surgeons’ own experience, and do not arise from formal clinical studies. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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