Physicians who treat patients who have glaucoma are used to dealing with the unknown. Each day in the clinic and OR, they attempt to diagnose and prevent the progression of a disease still not fully understood. For that reason, these practitioners may be uniquely able to understand the frustration and concern elicited by an outbreak of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS). The occurrence of TASS after anterior segment surgery necessitates not only special care for affected patients and worry over their visual prognoses, but it also demands a careful investigation into the cause of the inflammatory reaction.
Whether TASS occurs as a single episode or a cluster of cases, it haunts the surgeons and staff involved until its source is determined and redressed. Such is the situation at more than 100 North American centers involved in the current outbreak of TASS, a single cause of which has not yet been identified by the investigating ad hoc task force.
All ophthalmologists and their surgical staffs need to understand the syndrome's causes, prevention, and management. To assist Glaucoma Today's readers, this issue includes an article by Nick Mamalis, MD, who is leading an effort funded by the ASCRS to determine the reason for the outbreak. All who have encountered TASS since February of this year can help the investigative effort by completing the questionnaires developed by the task force (for more information, see TASS Outbreaks, What Should We Do?).
On a brighter note, this edition of GToday also contains an editorial from its new Chief Medical Editor, Richard Lewis, MD. Rick has been a member of this publication's editorial advisory board since its September/October 2004 issue, and he brings to his new role a sense of excitement about the future of glaucoma diagnosis and therapy. Board members have been a major factor in GToday's success since its inception. I look forward to our continued collaboration as well as to working with Rick in his new capacity. The goal for GToday continues to be one of providing the information and education needed by practitioners treating patients with glaucoma.
