Valeda PBM for AMD after 533 days
Today marks our 533rd day of providing the groundbreaking, FDA-authorized Alcon Valeda photobiomodulation (PBM) treatment to improve vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Because I perform every treatment myself, I spend a considerable amount of time with each patient. Treatment time is 4 minutes and 10 seconds per eye. While some patients receive unilateral treatment, bilateral treatment is much more common. Each cycle consists of nine treatments and totals one hour and 15 minutes. Four months after a patient begins a cycle, the cycle is repeated. This amounts to three hours and 45 minutes of treatment time during the first three cycles. That figure does not include the initial and follow-up consultations I conduct with each patient—first to determine whether they are good PBM candidates and later to review their progress. During treatment, many patients prefer to remain relatively quiet while listening to their preferred music on the Apple HomePod in one of the Valeda treatment rooms. Retina specialists tend to have excellent memories, and I know all of my patients’ musical preferences. One loves the blues, another prefers the sounds of birds in the forest, and another requests music from the 1960s. Classical music is by far the most popular choice among Valeda patients. Most patients prefer to converse, and because the majority experience vision improvement with treatment, the conversation often focuses on what that improvement means for them and the difference it has made in their lives. A Marine Corps combat veteran of the Vietnam War recently shared, “I haven’t seen this well in years. I love reading, and it’s so much easier for me now.” A centenarian pianist, still taking lessons, remarked that she can once again read the tiny notes on her sheet music. A psychiatrist still practicing in his seventies told me simply, “I have hope for the future again.” And many patients have said, “I was able to pass my driver’s license exam. I am so thankful for the Valeda treatment.”
While not every patient experiences improvement, the majority do. On average, vision improves by one line on the eye chart, with many patients gaining several lines. Emerging data also indicate that the therapy can slow disease progression. Over these 533 days, I have been privileged to witness the profound impact this therapy has had on our patients’ lives-—individuals ranging in age from 52 to 100. We are deeply grateful to Alcon for their vision and commitment in bringing this technology to so many people.