EyeWorld Asia-Pacific June 2012 Issue

3 EWAP June 2012 Letter from the Editor Dear Friends I t’s fascinating to reflect on the different options that are available to surgeons today as compared to the dawn of excimer laser surgery in the early 90s when PRK was almost the sole refractive procedure in common practice. This issue of EyeWorld Asia-Pacific focuses on refractive surgery and how different surgical techniques and technology all play a role in achieving desired refractive outcomes. As surgeons we rely on surgical expertise and technology but also need to continually monitor our own results to achieve optimum refractive outcomes. This is true for both refractive surgery as well as cataract surgery. Achieving predictable outcomes after cataract surgery and managing preexisting astigmatism are an integral part of successful cataract surgery. Purchasing new technology such as a femtosecond laser is not a substitute for personal audit to optimize A constants and refine formula prediction. Similarly, toric implants will not achieve their full promise if surgeons are unaware of their own induced surgical astigmatism as pointed out in articles in this issue. It is a common observation that with-the-rule corneal astigmatism has a lower effect on subjective refraction than expected and precisely the opposite occurs in the presence of against-the-rule corneal astigmatism. The explanation for this was explained recently by Doug Koch during his innovators lecture at ASCRS as being due to the influence of the curvature of the posterior corneal surface and should be accounted for in selecting toric intraocular implants. It is therefore worth remembering that careful clinical observation and analyzing postoperative results play an essential role in refining refractive outcomes after cataract and refractive surgery. Although new technology and techniques often seize our attention, proper utilization of these advances still requires clinical judgment and acumen. Warmest regards Graham Barrett, MD President, APACRS Chief Medical Editor, EyeWorld Asia-Pacific EYEWORLD ASIA-PACIFIC EDITORIAL BOARD C HIEF MEDICAL EDITOR Graham BARRETT MEMBERS ANG Chong Lye CHAN Wing Kwong CHEE Soon Phaik YC LEE ASIA-PACIFIC CHINESE EDITION Editors-in-Chief ZHAO Jialiang ZHAO Kan Xing Deputy Editor HE Shouzhi ASIA-PACIFIC INDIA EDITION Regional Managing Editor S. NATARAJAN ASIA-PACIFIC KOREAN EDITION Regional Editor-in-Chief Hungwon TCHAH Regional Managing Editor Chul Young CHOI Prin ROJANAPONGPUN Ronald YEOH Hiroko BISSEN-MIYAJIMA John CHANG Choun-Ki JOO Pannet PANGPUTHIPONG Abhay VASAVADA