Is this the cure for adult myopia (axial)?

[Spoono]

There is a surgical procedure that can cure existing axial myopia. The surgery entails stitching an artificial muscle around the sclera of your eye. When you activate the muscle it pulls your eye up and down, and the back of the eye (retina) is moved to the focal point.

There are picture of the device, called the "Smart Eye Band" available here: http://www.google.com/patents?id=gV96AAAAEBAJ     The Page 12 and Page 13 drawings show a surgical correction for axial myopia. Click More under Drawing...

The inventors created this company: http://www.ophthalmotronics.com/index-1.html

They are still in the developmental stage at this point.  They are looking for funding in order to advance this technology.  At this stage they really need more testing, and then clinical results before they can use the band for correcting myopia.  There are a lot of  unknowns at this stage.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Gene therapy is being pushed. There is an enormous amount of time and money being spent on gene therapy for eye disease. The first successful gene transplant was done in USA and England this year for Leber's eye disease.  Also there has been more genetic/gene studies published based on the sequencing of the human chromosome (genome) in eye disease than any other medical specialty.

JCH MD

[dukey]

I agree. I think people should focus instead on the biochemical processes underlying the stretching. The eye is a perfect organ for something like gene therapy and I am amazed that this kind of work is not being pursued. The eye is a great model to test all kinds of treatment.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I would let someone else try it out and see how it does over several years before recommending it. Remember scleral reinforcement didn't work out too well.

JCH MD

[dukey]

Looks interestng though

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I would advise my patients to avoid this technology until it is much further down the road and there are hundreds if not thousands of cases to base a decision about having it done.

JCH MD