Who Needs a CTR?
Perhaps no one demonstrates more enthusiasm for the CTR than Howard Fine, MD, clinical professor ophthalmology at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. He has been using them for more than a decade, serving as a medical monitor in the device’s initial studies. “Capsular tension rings stabilize the cataract and make the surgery safer,” noted Dr. Fine, who inserted 450 CTRs during the early clinical studies alone. “They convert most cases of compromised zonular integrity from complex to routine, and give a level of protection from decentration.” Dr. Fine has a long list of indications for CTRs: all cases of trauma, any metabolic or endocrine disease, all cataract patients with previous glaucoma filtering surgery, all cases of radial keratotomy (RK) where there are more than eight incisions, and progressive zonular disease. “There may be weakened zonules even when they look intact,” Dr. Fine said. “RK is a good example of how we use CTR in a preventive capacity. When there a
