Ipads, cell phones and screens in general are turning myopia into “a true global epidemic.” This is noted by one of our country’s greatest experts on the subject, Dr. Juan Álvarez de Toledo, who, after developing his professional career at the Barraquer Clinic in Barcelona, ??has joined the medical dream team that is in charge of the Ophthalmology Clinic. Oftalvist of the Catalan capital as medical co-director. Although still far from the figures presented by hyper-technological South Korea, with up to 50-60% of children affected, he warns that also in our country the percentage, which is around 20-30%, is worrying and increasing.
The doctor, a specialist in corneal, cataract and presbyopia, refractive and reconstructive surgery of the anterior segment, points to cell phones as the most harmful, because they have smaller screens and “because children often look at them in the dark.” The situation would improve considerably “if they spent three hours a day playing outdoors.” Simple, but the vast majority don’t do it. In this sense, he points out the importance of opting for glasses when it comes to child patients. Currently, he warns, “orthokeratology therapies are in vogue, in which nocturnal contact lenses are placed to prevent myopia and that some opticians sell without going through the ophthalmologist, and we are experiencing serious complications. I have already seen three or four cases.” of eyes lost by amoebas.”
To avoid problems, it is important to rely on qualified professionals and reference centers. At Oftalvist, the experienced professional team is the axis on which the system pivots, but they also have the invaluable support of the latest technology, “of great help in diagnoses.” In 2004, they were pioneers in implementing the first femtosecond laser in Europe and Spain for 100% laser operation. It is basically used for refractive surgery, myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia, and its great effectiveness and rapid recovery – “vision is recovered in practically hours,” says the doctor – explain the boom it has experienced in recent years. However, although the laser sounds to patients “like a magic word,” the doctor warns that it is not the best option for everyone. “As doctors we have a maxim, primum non nocere, it is a priority to never cause harm, so we must evaluate each case carefully, and we can speak, for example, of a percentage of 20% of young people who want to have laser surgery and come out with “No from the consultation, and then we have to go to the intraocular lenses.”
These ICL lenses are implanted without the need to remove the lens, but rather the surgeon places them in the posterior chamber behind the pupil, between the iris and the lens, and are optimal for patients with high myopia or hyperopia, with very thin corneas. or with some biomechanical alteration or dry eye. It is, Álvarez de Toledo highlights, a procedure that is almost always reversible and allows correction of up to 18 diopters of myopia and 10 diopters of hyperopia. Recovery is very fast and, contrary to what some fear, it does not become opacified or thinned over time. At most, he points out, it is changed only once in a lifetime with an outpatient procedure.
Another of the most requested interventions in Spain, with around 500,000 a year, and in which the doctor is a specialist, is cataracts. Their appearance depends on genetics and sun exposure, but if we lived a hundred years, he points out, we would all end up suffering from them. For those affected by this ailment – ??increasingly numerous due to the aging of the population – it is clear: the only option is surgery. “There is no medical treatment, there are no drops, there is no light that can liquefy them. There are pharmaceutical companies working on it, but at the moment the reality is that there is nothing.”
The good news is that the result of the surgery is excellent in 95% of cases, complications are very rare and the operation is painless and lasts only ten minutes. In general, in just a week the patient can see perfectly. At Oftalvist, they have also recently incorporated innovative 3D technology for this intervention in their operating room in Barcelona. This, he says, “offers much more resolution than the microscopes with which our generation had always worked.
I emphasize to young professionals that they use the PlayStation a lot, because if they have the preparation to play video games, the ability to pay attention to screens, indicators, lights…, it is very useful, because the future will go that way.” In fact, he explains, in ophthalmology virtual simulators are already being used so that residents can start operating. Precisely because of his recognized specialization in this field, his presence in the media is common, such as the recent interview conducted by presenter Risto Mejide and in which he detailed the possibilities offered by a cornea transplant and highlighted the donation rates in Spain. which are among the highest in the world.
