• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

A true ’Blue’ treatment for cataracts

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, December 21, 2004

Ophthalmologists who treat cataracts got good news last week, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the way for a new product that will help them visualize cataracts (clouding of the eye lens) better during surgery.
 
According to information on the FDA Web site, the organization on December 16 approved the use of a product called Vision Blue (described as a trypan blue ophthalmic solution) which will help in the removal of white cataracts by literally staining the anterior lens capsule blue, causing the white cataracts to stand out and become more visible to surgeons. A white cataract is an extremely advanced cataract most commonly seen in countries without strong preventitive medical care.

Vision Blue, made by D.O.R.C. International of the Netherlands, is currently marketed in 30 countries, but is the first product approved in the U.S. for staining the eye capsule. The safety of the product, according to the FDA, has been well established in pediatric and elderly patients, and adverse effects from Vision Blue (such as discoloration of the intraocular lens and staining of the posterior lens capsule and vitreous portion of the eye) are said to be "limited and of short duration."
 
It's estimated that more than 1.4 million people undergo cataract surgery each year in the United States.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive