| FDA panel to review laser eye surgery
SILVER SPRING, Maryland (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators plan to review whether a popular type of laser eye surgery is improving patients' lives, a senior Food and Drug Administration official said on Monday. Dr. Daniel Schultz, director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said a number of concerns have been raised concerning patient satisfaction with the vision correction procedure, known as laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, or LASIK. An agency advisory panel will hold a public meeting to discuss the issue, Schultz said, but he did not give a date. Companies that could be affected by such a meeting include LASIK device makers such as Advanced Medical Optics Inc, as well as LASIK providers such as TLC Vision Corp and LCA-Vision Inc.
US FDA panel to review laser eye surgery
SILVER SPRING (Maryland) - UNITED States health regulators plan to review whether a popular type of laser eye surgery is improving patients' lives, a senior Food and Drug Administration official said. Dr Daniel Schultz, director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said on Monday a number of concerns have been raised concerning patient satisfaction with the vision correction procedure, known as laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, or Lasik. An agency advisory panel will hold a public meeting to discuss the issue, Dr Schultz said, but he did not give a date. Companies that could be affected by such a meeting include Lasik device makers such as Advanced Medical Optics, as well as Lasik providers such as TLC Vision and LCA-Vision. 'Obviously, it's a technology that has caught on and is used very, very widely.
Joffe accuses TLC Vision of 'acting blindly'
Dr. Stephen Joffe, founder and former CEO of LCA-Vision Inc., parent company of LasikPlus, TLC Vision Corp.'s largest competitor, wrote another letter to TLC Vision claiming its board has acted blindly in running the company. Last week, Joffe disclosed ownership of a 5 percent voting position in TLC Vision and made public a letter blasting the company. He also proposed joining the company as executive chairman or CEO to implement strategic and business model changes for the company, a request TLC declined in a response letter. Mississauga, Ontario-based TLC Vision Corp. (Nasdaq: TLCV; TSX: TLC), which provides eye surgery services, has its U.S. headquarters in St. Louis. Joffe does not have a current relationship with LCA-Vision. Joffe, who founded LCA (Nasdaq: LCAV) in 1985, left his job as chairman of the Cincinnati, Ohio-based laser eye surgery company in March 2006.
Dr. Robert Gale Martin: 'Farm boy' found worldwide acclaim
PINEHURST — Dr. Robert Gale Martin, a Wilkes County farm boy who became an internationally known ophthalmologist, lived his life by a few simple words: Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. Martin died March 18. He was 65. About five years ago, Martin was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a type of cancer that is found in the protective lining surrounding most of the body’s internal organs. "He knew it was terminal at the outset," said Dr. Gregory Mincey, a retina surgeon who worked with Martin. "We all did. Typical of Gale, he didn’t retreat. He picked up the pace. He literally operated until the very last." Martin was co-founder of Carolina Eye Associates, one of the largest outpatient ocular surgical centers in the state.
Doctor travels to Honduras to give gift of sight
In a tiny town in Honduras, hundreds lined up and settled in to wait for the chance to see again.Villagers in the small province were waiting to see doctors from all over the world who had come to give eye exams, distribute glasses and perform surgery on those who needed it. Among them was Dr. Lawrence Stewart, an ophthalmologist with Eye Physicians of Central New York at North Medical Center on Taft Road. Stewart participated in the mission, performing surgeries to remove cataracts and more with the assistance of his office administrator, Colleen Richberg.�I�m a member of an eye care group in the U.S. that provides services to indigent patients,� Stewart said. �We collaborate with a number of international groups, and there�s a high need for surgical services across the world.�Stewart made his first journey to Latin America to perform eye surgeries last year, traveling to Argentina after hearing about the program from patient Clayton Koontz.
Calgary's image in tatters
Calgary's image is taking a national pounding following the brutal pummelling of two Ontarians who'd recently arrived in the city chasing a better life, says an alderman and father of one victim. News of early Monday's nearly fatal, apparently unprovoked attack on an itinerant worker from Peterborough, Ont., horrified Dieter Kiklas, whose 18-year-old son, Jordan, is recovering from severe head injuries sustained in an attack on 17 Ave. S.W. on March 7. "It's terrible -- there needs to be more of a police presence there ... for a town that size with that much money, there's no police," said Kiklas from his home near Owen Sound, Ont. Calgary, he said, is being saddled with a black eye in central Canada where people look to the city as a wellspring of affluence. "Everybody thinks there's dreams and jobs and they're going out there, then getting blind-sided with all the crime," he said.
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