ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
ASCRS News
May 2023
Marlene Moster, MD, will deliver the Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, Lecture at the ASCRS Annual Meeting. In her lecture, titled “Glaucoma Surgery: The Next Level,” Dr. Moster plans to discuss problems with current glaucoma surgical options. She will also highlight future devices and techniques that may help make glaucoma surgery more efficacious, with fewer complications and the goal of faster recovery.
Dr. Moster discussed her lecture with EyeWorld and shared some of the changes she’s seen in the glaucoma field during her career, as well as developments that she’s looking forward to.
Over the last 30 years, there have been significant advances in glaucoma treatment and surgery, she said. These advances have expanded treatment options for glaucoma patients, reduced complications, and improved patient outcomes. Some key medical developments include prostaglandin analogs, Rho kinase inhibitors, and combination eye drops. Laser treatments like selective laser trabeculoplasty proved to be less destructive than earlier laser treatments and can be repeated if necessary. MIGS proved less invasive than traditional glaucoma surgeries with fewer complications. Traditional glaucoma surgery advances using the antifibrotic agent mitomycin-C changed the surgical playing field by significantly increasing the success of filtering surgery.
Dr. Moster said one major advance she saw in the glaucoma field is the change in anesthesia techniques. “Years ago, we introduced ‘blitz anesthesia,’ which includes topical lidocaine jelly, intracameral lidocaine, and subconjunctival lidocaine,” she said. “We called it the ‘blitz’ because we attacked the problem from all sides. Thus, we stopped doing peribulbar and retrobulbar blocks for every kind of glaucoma surgery.” One-eyed patients could see immediately, and the risk of a retrobulbar hemorrhage, especially for patients on blood thinners, was greatly reduced.
Overall, the last 30 years have seen remarkable progress in glaucoma treatment and surgery, leading to better outcomes and quality of life for patients suffering from this chronic eye condition, she said.
Dr. Moster said that the scientific and entrepreneurial impetus to take glaucoma surgery to the next level is here to stay. “The dreaded complications of flat anterior chambers, hypotony, fibrosis, and ultimately failure are being systematically eliminated with new tube and device designs, new materials, thinner profiles, and better drug delivery to advance glaucoma surgery to a safer, more efficient, and more precise realm,” she said. “I think that within the next few years, we will be able to easily place sensors within the eye so the holy grail of ‘what is really the IOP’ 24/7 will accurately be answered, and through cloud-based intervention, glaucoma progression will be certainly reduced.”
Dr. Moster is a professor of ophthalmology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and an attending glaucoma surgeon at Wills Eye Hospital. Her research focus has been in pharmacologic advancements and surgical interventions for the treatment of glaucoma. She has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, been invited to deliver several named lectures at medical conferences, and has trained hundreds of residents and glaucoma fellows. Dr. Moster has served on the ASCRS Glaucoma Clinical Committee since 2011.
The Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, Lecture and Medal, established in 2021, honors individuals who have made significant contributions to one of the areas of Dr. Lindstrom’s ophthalmic interests, including cataract, cornea, refractive, and glaucoma. Dr. Lindstrom also fostered and promoted industry collaboration with ASCRS.
Relevant disclosures
Moster: None
Contact
Moster: marlenemoster@gmail.com
