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VNR
MEDIA ALERT
Embargoed
Tuesday, 6 December 2005
VNR
satellite feed @ 9:15AM ON TUESDAY, 6 DECEMBER
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Revolutionary
all-in-one lens set to restore full range of vision
for people living with cataracts
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| Up
to 40,000 Australians living with cataracts are set to
benefit from the launch of the world’s first intraocular
lens (IOL) that restores a full range of vision in the
one implant. The
multifocal lens, to be launched next Tuesday, 6 December
uses a diffractive technology that for the first time
offers excellent near and distance vision and permanently
removes the need for glasses in 80 per cent of patients
following cataract surgery.
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THE
FACTS |
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Cataracts are cloudy areas that form in
the lens of the eye and obstruct vision.
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They are the most common cause of treatable
blindness worldwide.
- Cataracts
are caused by age, smoking, prolonged
exposure to sunlight, a family history,
diabetic complications, injury to the
eye, chronic inflammation in the eye and
prolonged use of steroids
- An
estimated 40,000 Australians are currently
living with cataracts
- Everyone
has some degree of cataract by the time
they are 80 years old and 2 out of 3 people
before the age of 60
- Cataract
surgery is the most common, major operation
in the world and the most effective and
cost-effective at providing quality of
life years of any medical intervention
- The
largest single direct eye health cost
condition is cataract
- The
total annual government direct cost of
treating cataract is more than $378 million
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Available
for interview:
- Dr
Rick Wolfe, Ophthalmic Surgeon, Secretary and Treasurer
of the Australasian
Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
-
Former cataract patients from Melbourne
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Online media kit available TUES, 6 DEC @ www.vivacommunications.com.au/cataracts
* Broadcast audio grabs available TUES, 6 DEC @ www.vivacommunications.com.au/cataracts
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