Ocular Sealant Superior to Sutures After Cataract Surgery

BOSTON —The ocular ReSure Sealant (Ocular Therapeutix) provides a convenient, safe, and effective alternative to sutures after cataract surgery, according to results from a pivotal phase 3 randomized trial.

Corneal wound leaks are common after cataract surgery; the rate is as high as 85%, said Terry Kim, MD, professor of ophthalmology at the Duke University Eye Center in Durham, North Carolina.

"Even perfectly constructed wounds can be compromised with internal or external pressure or manipulation," he said.

Dr. Kim, who was among several speakers describing results with the ReSure Sealant, presented the findings here at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery 2014 Symposium.

The sealant, a synthetic polyethylene glycol hydrogel, was approved by US Food and Drug Administration in January. It is the first gel sealant approved in the United States to prevent wound leaks after cataract surgery.

> READ MORE to find out about the cost/risk/benefit tradeoffs from medscape.com

Preparing for Surgery

World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist

SCOAP Surgical Checklist Information Sheet from www.surgicalchecklist.org

Prepare for Surgery from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Prepare for Surgery (Spanish) from the Partnership for Healthcare Excellence

Having Surgery: What you need to know from AHRQ

Prepare for Surgery from the Partnership for Healthcare Excellence

Learning to ask Tough Questions of your Surgeon from the Wall Street Journal

A Sample Time Out Protocol from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Ten Questions to Ask Before Having an Operation from the American College of Surgeons

Quick Tips when Planning for Surgery from AHRQ

Time Out Protocol from the Minnesota Department of Public Health

via Preparing for Surgery.

Should More Patients Continue Aspirin Therapy Before Surgery?

By Megan Brooks

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 20 - The practice of empirically interrupting chronic aspirin therapy before surgery "should be abandoned," according to the authors of a contemporary literature review.

They say the evidence they found in a PubMed and Medline literature search "strongly supports" continued perioperative use of aspirin in patients taking it for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease.

"Many patients need to be on lifelong aspirin therapy for various cardiovascular indications and...other than for a select group of operative procedures, the risks of aspirin cessation exceed the benefit," Dr. Neal Stuart Gerstein from the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of New Mexico in Albuquerque told Reuters Health by email.

via Should More Patients Continue Aspirin Therapy Before Surgery?.