Ophthalmic Surgeon Report

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: Economics of Retinal Treatment Continue to Change Due to Anti-VEGF Treatments & Micro-Incision Surgery

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:51 +0000

In this edition, we report results from our survey of US retina specialists during the fourth quarter of 2009. We report on retinal procedure volume and we provide data on anti-VEGF therapy, combo therapies, laser photocoagulation procedures, vitrectomies, and retinal surgery locations.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: Retinal Biotech Sparks New Treatment Realities

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:50 +0000

The landscape of retinal therapies has changed dramatically during the past three years as anti-VEGF IVT injections have become the treatment of choice for wet AMD. As retina specialists await word from the CATT (Comparison of Age-related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trial) study comparing Lucentis and Avastin and due in early 2011, the use of both anti-VEGFs has expanded beyond wet AMD to include other exudative conditions, most notably diabetic macular edema. In addition, improvements in surgical technique for vitrectomy—in particular, smaller incisions—and the growing use of ASCs for surgery have changed and continue to change the economics of retinal surgery.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: Patients’ Diagnoses

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:49 +0000

Survey respondents were asked about the primary diagnoses of the patients they treated during 2009’s fourth quarter.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: Treatments for Wet AMD

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:48 +0000

We asked respondents about the percentages of their wet AMD cases in which they used various treatments.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: Vision Gains with Anti-VEGFs

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:48 +0000

We asked retina specialists about the percentage of their wet AMD patients that experience a gain in visual acuity after receiving anti-VEGF therapy.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: Combination Therapies

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:47 +0000

We asked retina specialists if they used combination therapies to treat AMD and, if they did, which combination they used.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: IVT Injections by Diagnosis

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:46 +0000

We asked retina specialists about the diseases and conditions for which they used intravitreal (IVT) injections of anti-VEGFs or corticosteroids.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: VEGF Inhibition in Other Retinal Conditions

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:45 +0000

Lucentis and Avastin are currently in clinical studies for several non-AMD diseases and disorders, and their use in the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) has become increasingly commonplace.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialists’ Quarterly Survey Report: Monitoring Anti-VEGF Therapy

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:44 +0000

Survey respondents were asked to rate on a scale of one to five the effectiveness of various diagnostic technologies in monitoring the progress of anti-VEGF therapy.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialist's Quarterly Survey Report: Laser Photocoagulation

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:43 +0000

Survey respondents were asked about the number and types of laser photocoagulation procedures they performed in Q4-2009.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialist's Quarterly Survey Report: Photocoagulator Purchases

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:42 +0000

Q4-2009 Retina Specialist's Quarterly Survey Report: Vitrectomies

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:41 +0000

We asked survey respondents about the number of vitrectomies they performed in Q4-2009.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialist's Quarterly Survey Report: Change in Vitrectomy Volume

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:39 +0000

We asked survey respondents if the number of vitrectomies they performed in Q4-2009 increased, decreased, or remained about the same when compared with Q4-2008.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialist's Quarterly Survey Report: MIVS & Instrument Gauge

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:37 +0000

We asked survey respondents about their use of vitrectomy instruments of various gauges during the fourth quarter of 2009.

Q4-2009 Retina Specialist's Quarterly Survey Report: Disposable & Reusable Instruments

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:34:36 +0000

We asked survey respondents about thier use of scissors and forceps during Q4-2009 and how often they used disposable versions of these instruments.