News Releases: Cornea

• Emory Eye Center Professor R. Doyle Stulting Named Hughes Professor
  (ATLANTA) R. Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD, professor of Ophthalmology and director of the Cornea Service, Emory Eye Center, was appointed the John H. and Helen S. Hughes Professor in Ophthalmology, effective August 1, 2009. Stulting is considered a leading authority in the areas of corneal and external disease. He is the President-elect of the leading society in his subspecialty, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS).

• Emory Eye Center Neuro-Ophthalmologists Collaborate to Write Neuro-Ophthalmology Illustrated
  September 3, 2009 | (ATLANTA) With a combined 40 years of experience, Emory Eye Center neuro-ophthalmologists Nancy J. Newman and Valérie Biousse have collaborated to write Neuro-Ophthalmology Illustrated (Thieme Verlag), a book that they hope will de-mystify the perceived complexity of neuro-ophthalmology, according to the authors. While the book is aimed at medical students, residents, and practicing ophthalmologists and neurologists, it should also be a valuable resource for neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, and otolaryngologists who deal with patients having disorders of vision and the brain.

• Emory Eye Center Participates in Nationwide Study Showing that Older Corneas are Suitable for Transplantation Results Could Expand Donor Pool Significantly
  ATLANTA- Corneal transplants using tissue from older donors have similar rates of survival to those using tissue from younger donors reports a nationwide study recently concluded at Emory Eye Center and 79 other sites. The five-year transplant success rate for recipients was the same—86 percent—for transplants performed across the nation with corneas from donors ages 12 to 65 years and from donors ages 66 to 75.
  April 1, 2008

• Emory Eye Center First U.S. Site to Conduct Keratoconus and Ectasia Trials
  (ATLANTA) Emory Eye Center will be the first U.S. site to conduct an innovative clinical study on patients with keratoconus, a bulging or steepening of the cornea that can lead to, in some cases, scarring of the cornea, or corneal ectasia, a similar condition that can occur after refractive surgery. The new treatment, a minimally invasive, quick procedure, involves riboflavin eye drops—applied to the patient’s cornea and activated by an ultraviolet light. In European studies, the treatment has been shown to increase the amount of collagen cross-linking in the cornea, thereby strengthening it. Cross-linking refers to the natural collagen “anchors” in the corneal tissue. A stronger cornea will not tend to steepen in the way that a diseased one will.
  January 7, 2008

• Emory Eye Center Among First to Offer New Multi-focal IOL For Cataract Patients Freedom from Glasses a Plus
  (ATLANTA) Emory Eye Center is now offering a newly FDA-approved intraocular lens (IOL) for cataract patients. The lens provides them with a new option for post-surgery vision correction-that of freedom from glasses. The lens provides near, intermediate and far vision capabilities.
  July 21, 2005

• Emory Laser Vision first in Georgia to offer laser vision correction with PerfectPulse Technology
  A new custom refractive laser, shown to improve quality of vision with regard to daytime and night driving glare, is available for the first time in Georgia, at Emory Laser Vision. The European-designed ALLEGRETTO WAVE excimer laser system with PerfectPulse Technology was the first new platform to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in five years. It is also the only laser system that has received concurrent approvals for nearsightedness and farsightedness with astigmatism and clearance for the widest treatment range ever initially granted to a new laser.
  October 19, 2004

• Emory Eye Center the site of study to determine best treatment for babies with cataract
  Emory Eye Center will be the lead center among other eye institutes across the country to study what treatment for infants born with a cataract in one eye is the better to attain corrected vision once that cataract is removed: 1) using a contact lens or 2) surgically placing a plastic lens (intra-ocular lens [IOL]) in the baby's eye following removal of the cataract. The Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS) will study infants from age four weeks to seven months.
  October 5, 2004

• Emory Eye Center physician named one of six "Health Care Heroes" by Atlanta Business Chronicle
  Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD, director of the Cornea Service at Emory Eye Center and medical director of the newly opened Emory Laser Vision, won the prestigious "Health Care Hero" award presented by the Atlanta Business Chronicle at their annual Health Care Heroes Awards and Forum event on May 13. The winner in the "Innovations" category, Dr. Stulting was cited for his groundbreaking artificial cornea transplant surgery last year-the first such surgery in the United States.
  May 17, 2004

• Emory Eye Center suggests passing up those Halloween eyes: Over-the-counter cosmetic contact lenses pose unseen dangers
  As the Halloween weekend comes closer, more and more teens and young adults may be in danger of losing sight or contracting infections related to the use of popular over-the-counter contact lenses. These lenses- sold at hairdressers, flea markets and even gas stations- are decorative and especially popular around the Halloween holiday. Some give wearers the appearance of cat eyes, for example, or have holiday-specific themes on them. But whatever their design, lenses purchased from these sources are dangerous-and illegal in the United States.
  October 20, 2003

• Emory Eye Center performs first U.S. artificial corneal transplant with promising new device
  Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD, corneal specialist at Emory Eye Center, performed the first artificial corneal transplant in the U.S. last week using a new device developed in Australia by Argus Biomedical. Both Emory Eye Center and the Cincinnati Eye Institute have been chosen as the first U.S. sites to use the new synthetic keratoprosthesis (artificial corneal device). The cornea is the clear window at the front of the eye, providing physical protection to the eye and part of the eye’s focusing power required for sight. When the cornea becomes diseased or scarred, the passage of light is impaired, thereby limiting vision.
  May 12, 2003

• Emory Eye Center receives grants to continue Corneal transplants in children
  A $118,000 grant from the Carlos and Marguerite Mason Trust will enable the Emory Eye Center to support the care of children who need cornea transplants. This “bridge funding” the Pediatric Corneal Transplant Program at Emory begins January 2002 and will last one year. The grant comes from Wachovia Bank, which administers funding from the trust created by Carlos and Marguerite Mason. Cornea transplants are the most common form of transplant in medicine. Because of the new techniques and drugs that have been developed over the last four decades, this surgery has a very high success rate.
  February 4, 2002

• Emory researcher reveals effect of Lasik Surgery on Cornea three years following the procedure
  Emory Eye Center researcher Henry Edelhauser, Ph.D. and co-workers have completed a three-year study on Emory University Eye Center patients who underwent a laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) procedure, a refractive surgery to correct eyesight. The patients were evaluated to ascertain the long-term effects of such surgery on the corneal endothelium, the cells that line the inside of the cornea. Sometimes referred to as the "window to the world," the cornea is the transparent covering over the eye.
  March 13, 2001

• New multifocal lens implant available at Emory benefits cataract patients
  Patients who have cataract surgery at the Emory Eye Center now have a new option for improving their view of the world. More than 1.4 million individuals each year have cataract surgery. In most cases, the eye’s cloudy lens — the cataract — is surgically removed and the focusing power of the eye is restored with an artificial lens. “Now for the first time, patients can have their lenses replaced with a multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) that provides clear vision for both close-up and distance viewing,” said George O. Waring III, M.D., a cornea specialist and professor of ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine.
  July 1998

• Facts about Keratoconus
  “Keratoconus is a progressive eye condition that sometimes is difficult to diagnose,” says Michael Ward, FCISA, director of Emory Eye Center’s contact lens service. “Keratoconus usually affects both eyes and requires careful contact lens management.”