Ophthalmology Breakthrough–An Analogy of Hope for Oncology
Dr. Michael McFarland is an acquaintance of mine and a fellow lake-dweller here in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He is a prominent ophthalmologist who gained world-wide attention 20 years ago with a new and controversial methods for doing cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery goes back as far as the 6th century BC. The first references to the procedure in the Western World are found in the Latin document De Medicinae in 29 AD. Through the centuries, rather bizarre methods were used to remove the blinding condition. By the 18th century, European doctors were successfully extracting cataracts, but not until the 1940s was the concept introduced to replace the lens with an artificial, intraocular lens. By the late 20th century, the state-of-the-art was to use a single stitch to close the incision used to replace the lens. Dr. McFarland, however, was frustrated as a relatively new surgeon that the single stitch was causing more problems for patients than any other part of the surgery. He came up with a beveled incision technique where the pressure of the eye itself would keep fluid from leaking and allow the cornea to heal. He performed the first no-stitch surgery in 1990.
The initial reaction from the ophthalomologist world was that the procedure was ridiculous. One leading doctor in the field told Mike that he was going to leave a trail of blindness from one border to the other. Dr. McFarland invited many of his colleagues to observe him perform the new technique in his own clinic. Soon those in the profession began to accept the procedure and trained to use it in their practice. Today, the no-stitch technique is the standard practice all over the world. It permits cataract surgery patients to recover faster with less pain and fewer complications.
I know it’s not a perfect analogy, but this breakthrough in cataract surgery is the kind of breakthrough we desperately need in the cancer war. I believe that the integrative oncology movement among a dedicated handful of doctors is the testing ground for a future breakthrough in the quest for victory over cancer. The shift by conventional oncologists toward acceptance of certain complementary cancer therapies is still accompanied by skepticism. Some fringe ideas are quickly ridiculed by those respected in the field just as was the no-stitch procedure. I long for the day that a Dr. Mike McFarland of the practice of oncology will surface with a breakthrough therapy for cancer. Such a doctor will have to have thick skin for the initial waves of criticism, but may ultimately set the standard for cancer treatment.
I invite your comments.
August 5th, 2010 at 08:24
Your article was great I never knew that Dr Michael Farland is the one that discover the no stitch cataract surgery. Thank you for you information. It is very helpful. And also want to share something about cataract. A cataract starts out small and has little effect on vision but as the lens become more opaque, vision is blurred a little. Ultimately, clear vision is compromised and there is a significant loss of visual acuity. A cataract can also make light appear too bright or glaring due to its scattering inside the affected eye. Once cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair vision, surgery is the best treatment option. Cataract surgery is a simple and relatively painless procedure yet it is very effective in restoring vision. In fact, it is the most frequently performed surgery in the U.S., with over three million Americans undergoing cataract surgery annually. mangosteen is loaded with powerful anti-oxidants called xanthones which can prevent damage to the lens caused by harmful free radicals. There are 200 types of xanthones known to man and mangosteen has 40 of those. I hope you find it useful.
Kind regards,
Nancy
October 25th, 2011 at 18:00
There are a few doctors making headway like this. A doctor who treated me for “canalicular stenosis” because I was tearing after cancer treatment. Several other doctors saw me and said nothing can be done. Dr Thiagarajah saw me and said he thought it was worth a shot to try and open the tear ducts. In short he tried it, it worked and now I don’t tear like crazy. His website was dceyelid.com. Gotta love someone who thinks out of the box.