In Contact - July 2002
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The NZSCLP AGM and Scientific Meeting took place at Barrycourt Conference Centre in Parnell on Saturday 15th June. The event was reasonably well attended and we were given two excellent presentations. Jennifer Craig presented a synopsis of dry eye in a paper entitled ?Dry Eye Detection and Management - The Current State of the Art?. I am sure we all learnt something new about this most important subject. Many thanks to Jenny who had flown in from Europe at 5.15AM that day, having recently presented at the BCLA.
Nigel Thrush, the newest member of the society also presented a great lecture entitled ?RGPs Rule, Mate!? It covered some of the basics of RGP fitting but the case presented was of a toric RGP fitting, along with all relevant clinical data and NaFl slit lamp photos. It was Nigel?s first RGP fit outside university clinics and resulted in a most satisfactory outcome. I reckon most of us with decades of experience would?ve been more than happy to achieve a similar result.
Many thanks to the presenters and also to our hard working council. We also thank Kevin O?Connor for his sterling service to council over the past few years and welcome Greg Nel to council.
I would like to take this opportunity of inviting all current optometry students and ophthalmology registrars who are not current members of the society to contact us to arrange trainee membership. This will enable you to attend scientific meetings and conferences. Trainee membership does not attract any membership fee. There are still a few practitioners who are not members of the NZSCLP, particularly recent graduates and we invite you to contact the society for application forms. You can obtain one through me or via secretary Trevor Duncan on info@contactlens.org.nz or call Trevor to post one via snail mail. Contact details are at http://www.contactlens.org.nz/
There are many benefits of membership but most importantly the NZSCLP serves as a forum for contact lens education and interaction with colleagues, with the main goal being of better care of the patient. As Nigel has shown it is of benefit to all to front up and present a paper. Presenting almost always involves a review of the facts, or checking of references, first principles and so on and is thus a learning experience in itself ? the exact goal of CE!
Another one of those desirable win-win situations.
One small point that I noted is that four out of seven council members are now ?former? South Africans. I am sure we would not want the All Blacks to consist of two thirds Springboks so I issue the challenge to all the capable people I know are out there to step up and offer your services to the NZSCLP for future councils, conference and education committees.
With the ever-increasing need for continuing education, we want and need your input. This was made clear from discussion at the AGM.
Taupo 2003
We are pleased to announce that the next NZSCLP Contact Lens Conference will take place at Wairakei Resort, Lake Taupo from 6th to 9th February 2003. A number of internationally renowned speakers have already agreed to present.
Stephen D. Klyce, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology & Anatomy/Cell Biology at Louisiana State University USA, will be presenting on subjects covering corneal topography and wave front analysis in clinical practice as well as an update on refractive surgery and more. Those of you who keep up with the literature will have noted many of Steve?s advanced papers on many aspects of the above subjects. He has a broad understanding of the maths, science and optics of these subjects as well as clinical aspects.
Jennifer P. Craig PhD MCOptom FAAO, Lecturer in Ophthalmology at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, will also be presenting on a number of subjects. Watch this space and NZSCLP communications for more.
We are also delighted to announce that through popular demand David Ruston BSc FCOptom DipCLP FAAO, Managing Director Optometric Educators Ltd. will be back. He will be covering a wide range of clinically relevant subjects ranging from an update on Ortho-K, RGP problem solving, materials, designs, presbyopia, research in practice, a new style quiz and post refractive surgery fitting.
We will also shortly be announcing a further international speaker and have had expressions of interest form a number of other local and overseas speakers. The conference chairman is once again Richard Newson and Trevor Gray, Grant Watters and I will be involved in the Papers Committee and Scientific Programme.
Taupo should be able to provide us with a similar spirit to last year?s Blenheim meeting and as the majority of delegates will be accommodated within the resort the apr?s conference evenings should be rather sociable! There will obviously also be a full programme of entertainment, a partners programme and a comprehensive exhibition.
Remember to register early as we are expecting a great turnout and accommodation at Wairakei is limited. There are however many other places to stay in the nearby vicinity. Registration will be online pretty soon and you will receive notice by regular mail as well.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Call for Papers
Some of the highlights of the Blenheim meeting were the large number of local clinical and research papers presented, which covered many aspects of contact lenses and the anterior segment.
Thus on behalf of the NZSCLP and the Taupo 2003 Papers Committee I would like to invite submissions for papers to be presented at the meeting.
No conference would be the same without the wide-ranging viewpoints and expertise that these presentations offer.
Please get in touch with Trevor Gray on trevor@eyeinstitute.co.nz with your submissions. All we need initially is an expression of interest with, a brief outline or abstract. The deadline for expressions of interest is 31st July 2002 and you will have until 15th November 2002 to provide the final paper and required details.
As Nigel has shown one simply needs to make the commitment and it all happens from there.
ICLC
As you will have noted in this column I have, for many years, quoted numerous excellent papers that have been published in the International Contact Lens Clinic journal. One of the best ever would have to be ?Deposits and Symptomology with Soft Contact Lens Wear? by Brennan and Coles. This ?must read? article covers over twenty pages with 228 references. It has much excellent information as well as photographs and covers mechanisms, types, make up, care systems, infection, comfort, symptoms, signs, vision, composition, tear constituents and much more. It is also significant that this article was published in Volume 27, Number 3 of ICLC, which represents the first edition under the new joint-editorship of Barry Weissman and Chris Snyder. Both have presented at NZSCLP meetings, as has Noel.
As you may recall I was appointed to the new editorial board of ICLC and would like to encourage all academic and clinical readers of this column to please make submissions to ICLC. We are endeavouring to return ICLC to its former glory and to make it the number one clinical contact lens journal. We cannot achieve this alone but as you can see if the likes of internationally renowned contact lens educators, clinicians and researchers like Noel Brennan are prepared to front up, then why shouldn?t you?
To rebuild the journal and improve its ratings we need your support, now.
I know all about journal ratings and the importance of that for funding at university, but It's the old ?Catch 22??
There comes a time when one simply has to get on board and look to the future. We?d greatly appreciate your papers, clinical reports, case studies, photos and letters.
The same edition of ICLC also included a paper ?Spectra of UV-absorbing Contact Lenses: Relative Performance?, by Faubl and Quinn. It's a comprehensive analysis of various groups of UV spectra ranging from 280 to 400 nanometres and includes transmission curves for all the lenses from 280 ? 800nm.
Whether you prescribe UV lenses or not, It's well worth looking into.
My compliments to all involved in this ?first? issue under the new leadership.
Web Update
Check out http://www.kcenter.org/news/12.html
While you are there, go and read some of the ?message postings? and in particular those under the topic ?living with keratoconus?
It's often a good wakeup call so see what patients are saying and to see how important proper care and communication is. All the more reason for proper continuing education.
Another good site with up to date news and what?s in the press regarding eye care is http://www.ocunet.com.ar/eyenetnews/
One item that may raise questions from your patients is http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/06/020606074918.htm
It pays to be proactive in such matters and have you and your staff ready with the right answers when it comes to such issues.
Another study has shown that that eye drops used to treat elevated pressure inside the eye can be effective in delaying the onset of glaucoma. See http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jun2002/nei-13.htm - It's a good, ongoing scientific study.
It sure makes me feel better, particularly after a local ophthalmologist ?told me off? in front of my colleagues when I suggested that maybe they should be treating patients before visual field damage was visible, particularly as the lecture given at the time indicated that there has to be 40% nerve fibre damage before a field defect was detectable. Only then would treatment be implemented. At the time [around seven years ago] ophthalmologists I had worked with in South Africa had often been treating these ?glaucoma suspects? before field damage was present. Nowadays I suspect we not only detect field damage earlier [with better techniques and technology] but that retinal tomography and other techniques can also detect nerve fibre layer damage much earlier.
See the June 2002 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology for more.
Some futuristic stuff dealing with ?artificial vision?, and currently getting a lot of press coverage, can be found at http://www.artificialvision.com/index.html and http://www.optobionics.com/
It's amazing what mankind is achieving these days.
Henry W. Hofstetter 1914 - 2002
I was saddened to note the passing of Henry W. Hofstetter, O.D., PhD, [Emeritus Professor and founder of the Indiana University Optometry Program].
My dad [Sid Saks] studied at Indiana and was kindly looked after by Hank back in 1957. Apparently Hank and his colleagues were somewhat surprised to find that my dad was a ?white boy? from Africa as they had expected a black man!
Hank subsequently stayed with us a few times in South Africa with his late wife, Jane. We travelled around South Africa and they loved the Game Parks, and in particular the African Elephants. Around 1974 Hank stayed with us in SA for about 3 months when he did an investigation into Optometric education is SA. We had long chats and he was one of the people who motivated me to study optometry. In later years he wrote me a great reference when I wanted to do an MSc in the US.
I also took, and still have a photo of Hank, published at the time in The South African Optometrist journal. The photo was one of the first B&W photos I processed and printed myself, while still at secondary school.
Hank was arguably one of the greatest minds in Optometry and did a lot of the scientific work and research that made optometry the profession it is today - not to mention his input into the political arena as far as legislation in optometry was concerned. He was a great wordsmith and just a few months ago my dad received a copy of one of his famous rhymes, which showed that even with failing health his mind was still as sharp as ever.
Ode to the Itch
The itch holds a rank neither feral nor fickle,
A miniscule blight twixt a pain and a tickle.
The itch may evolve ?neath the nails of one?s toes
Or penetrate pores of the skin of the nose.
In childhood diapers it needs talcum powder,
The tenants in rest homes complain a bit louder.
When posed to a doctor ?tis called ?urticaria?,
In situ occurs in a cumbersome area.
Cool ointments with aloe fill pharmacists racks.
For lack of a cure we let friends scratch our backs.
Henry W Hofstetter
March 02, 2001
One only needs to check out Irv Borish?s ?Clinical Refraction? to see that Henry W was a prolific researcher, as many a chapter has at least one reference to ?Hofstetter?.
I well remember graphical analysis as an optom student and Hank?s input into that field alone. I also remember his penchant for E-D Trifocals and it was many a time that I prescribed them for patients based on his positive comments of his experience wearing them. Hank will also long be remembered for his contribution to the ?Dictionary of Visual Science,? which spanned many decades.
A great and dedicated man with vision, who has been widely recognised and honoured in optometry.
Check out the Indiana University website for more.
http://www.opt.indiana.edu/people/faculty/hofstett.htm
RIP and thanks Hank - I regard myself as fortunate for having known you, albeit not well enough.
For more information or any comments email Alan at incontact@optom.co.nz.