EDITORIAL
To continually sow science, this is our mission...
Hamilton Moreira
President of the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology
"What is worthwhile in life is not the starting point but the journey.
Walking and sowing, in the end you will have something to harvest."
(Cora Coralina)
Dedicated to the ocular surface, with special attention to contact lenses, this supplement of the Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia (ABO) is a novelty. ABO are the great pride of national ophthalmology. Not only because they reflect the progress of Brazilian ophthalmologic science, but above all because of their independence. ABO are financed by the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology, but are scientifically independent and should continue to be so. Credibility of articles only exist if there is editorial independence. This edition was conceived in this way.
Ocular surface is the area of ophthalmology which is receiving special attention in the last years, especially in our country. A few years ago we had at our disposal only few artificial lubricants, and dry eye was a generic denomination with few studies. At present, the control of the concept of lacrimal dysfunction syndrome and its interactions is indispensable for any ophthalmologist. Fitting contact lenses demands profound knowledge of alteration of the ocular surface. Those who believe that fitting contact lenses is restricted to esthetic convenience and to the comfort reported by the patient make a mistake.
This supplement was proposed by the directing board of the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology and promptly accepted by the ABO Editorial Council. We need official, independent information based on evidences. Contact lenses continue to be a field of risk. Convenience and extreme comfort of the new materials should not be confused with absence of complications. During all these years we had many advances in this area, but it becomes evident on reading the material of this supplement that contact lens fitting continues to be a medical act; exclusively for physicians. It requires responsibility, and knowledge.
The advent of disposable contact lenses in 1987 brought hope for decrease in complications. It is rational to presume that frequent disposal could minimize the most feared of complications: infectious keratitis. A little more than 20 years after the appearance of disposable lenses the only feature that changed was the market. Infection even increased. It is easy to understand that vulgarization of fitting and disinformation of the user are reasons for this occurrence.
I am proud to present to our class this supplement. A supplement of the most important publication of the national ophthalmology, the Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia, dedicated to Contact Lenses and their relationship with the ocular surface. A great conquest for the Brazilian ophthalmology. One more seed for a productive harvest.
Hamilton Moreira
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
02 Mar 2009 -
Date of issue
Dec 2008
