This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Correcting even small amounts of astigmatism is important
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
While we often think of Jan. 1 as the end of the holiday season, for much of Christianity the holidays culminate with the Epiphany. Traditionally held on Jan. 6, the celebration commemorates the Magi’s visit to the Christ child as validation of God’s physical presence.
In every sense, the Epiphany is very much a moment of revelation and insight. Theology aside, the term epiphany has become a much bigger part of our vernacular. In fact, Merriam-Webster defines an epiphany as, “an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking.” Yes, something simple and striking.
As eye doctors, we experience our share of epiphanies. Whether during a patient visit, while chatting with a colleague or reading a professional publication, an epiphany inevitably results in an “a-ha” moment.
Consider astigmatism, for instance. Like all optometrists, my training provided a sound understanding of astigmatism. However, early in my career, addressing astigmatism with anything other than a spectacle lens was not always an easy thing. Early-generation disposable soft contact lenses, IOLs and even excimer laser PRK surgery, for instance, made no provisions for astigmatism correction at all. Naturally, we often downplayed small astigmatic errors, attempting to correct them only if patients were symptomatic. For the most part, astigmatism was a bit of an afterthought.
And then came my a-ha moment. In 2000, two respected colleagues, Tim Comstock, OD, and Rick Potvin, MASc, OD, presented a paper at our academy’s international meeting in Spain. Their research involved fitting a cohort of low astigmatic eyes with both sphere and toric soft contact lenses. An impressive 97% of the eyes achieved 20/20 while wearing a toric lens, and a respectable 81% did so with a sphere. However, when viewing the 20/15 line, 68% of the eyes were successful with a toric, while only 21% were so with a sphere. Their message was simple and striking: Correcting astigmatism – even small amounts – is important. For me, and I’m sure many others, Drs. Comstock’s and Potvin’s work was an epiphany.
From that moment, I began to look at astigmatism differently. Rather than address it only in those who were symptomatic, I began to view astigmatism correction as an opportunity to achieve an even greater level of vision, even for small amounts of astigmatism. As contact lens, refractive surgery and IOL technologies have improved over the years, our efforts to correct astigmatism have become even more efficient and effective, with options that now include a wide range of daily disposable contact lenses and pseudophakic IOLs.
In this month’s issue, our feature article, entitled, “New toric contact lenses, IOLs improve astigmatism management,” provides a timely look at the burgeoning field of astigmatism management in both the daily disposable contact lens and cataract surgery arenas. Additionally, our Healio bloggers, Drs. Aaron Bronner and Ami Halvorson, provide additional guidance as it relates to comanaging toric IOL patients (“How to comanage patients receiving toric IOLs,” ). I’m sure you’ll find our colleagues’ comments perceptive, relevant and a call to action.
So, while astigmatism correction may no longer be an epiphany for us, it often still remains so for our patients.