Summary

Ophthalmology has long been considered a surgical area because so many disorders/diseases are treated surgically rather than medically. In the past ten years, however, there have been considerable therapeutic breakthroughs in non-surgical treatments. For instance, anti-glaucoma agents have becoming increasingly effective. This edition will include a new chapter for retinal disease. There are now several pharmaceutical agents being used to treat these diseases. Specifically, age-related macular degeneration has many new products - macugen, lucentis, etc. - and intraocular infections are primarily treated with intravitreal medications. Additionally, the anti-allergy and dry eye markets have grown tremendously in the last 2-3 years (endura, restasis, xibrom, etc).