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>K.rno>2- I»U;K :• M KIMII.I: \I 11. \\KI>NKSI>AY. JLNE26.1W3 are periecung conveyor belt surgery John lams nlted Press International MOSCOW -- Henry Ford would not have believed his eyes: a con­ veyor belt for opthalmological surgery. The Moscow Research Institute of Eye Microsurgery has pioneered the technique, created in 1984 by Dr. Svyatoslav Fyodorov, in which five patients are operated on simultaneously by five eye specialists -- each per­ forming a single step of complex surgery. "Each surgeon performs his own part of the operation, quickly and with high precision," Fyodorov said at recent news con­ ference. "Every three minutes a patient leaves the room with normal eyesight. Sometimes as many as 100 operations are performed in one day," he said. "This conveyor-type surgery makes it possible to divide the operation into steps, increasing productivity of each surgeon 10 times with the highest quality guaranteed." In the future, Dr. Fyodorov hopes to perfect a robot surgeon now in development that will take over certain surgical functions in treating myopia -- near­ sightedness -- by reshaping the cornea. "In one and a half years time, a surgeon robot may well appear in operating theaters of eye clinics," Fyodorov said. Up to 20,000 patients suffering from cataracts, glaucoma, detached retinas, myopia and other defects have been treated in the assembly-line program since its inception. Fyodorov hopes to treat up to 40,000 patients annually on the moving operating tables. Except for the fact that the pro­ duct is a human being, the con­ veyor belt is similar to that seen in any mass production factory. In the pre-operation area, pa­ tients are given sterile gowns and prepared for surgery. A surgical aide guides each patient to an operating table where the eye to be treated is anesthesized and then exposed while the rest of the head is covered. While pleasant music plays in the background, the gurney is placed on the conveyor belt to await the opening of stainless- steel and glass windows which seal off the operating room. The window slides up, the gurney slides down the belt into position in front of doctor number one, then two, and so forth. In about 15 minutes, the window at the other end of the room opens, the patient steps from the gurney and goes to a recovery room tor examination. Depending on tfie type of opera­ tion, many patients go home the same day. Others stay in hotel­ like post-operative rooms in the nine-story complex. "I feel fine, just fine," a young woman told journalists after an operation to correct her near­ sightedness. The operation, called radial keratotomy, is a delicate pro­ cedure in which incisions resembl­ ing the spokes of a wheel are carv­ ed into the cornea, flattening the curve of the eye. Dr. Marguerite McDonald, an assistant professor of op- thalmology at Louisiana State University, admitted upon hear­ ing about the method, "The ins­ tant reaction is Incredible sur­ prise." However, she said the assembly line system seems designed for speed, an advantage when there are not enough surgeons to take care of all patients who need operations. "Perhaps it works for them," she said. "At the moment in the United States, that is not a pro­ blem. There are enough opthalmic surgeons in the United States." The research center, under the direction of Fyodorov, claims to have pioneered many techniques in eye surgery, including artificial 'lens implants and a diamond scalpel a hundred times thinner than a razor blade. Many of the techniques have taken years to be accepted by the West, the institute said. However, nearly all techniques performed in Moscow are available in the United States, McDonald said. Some used on peo­ ple in the Soviet Union are still in animal testing stages in the United States because of strict Food and Drug Administration regulations, she said. "The world is so small, an op­ thalmic advance is instantly known about," she said. Diet is shown to have an effect on a horse's stamina By Elisabeth Pennisl UPI Science Writer. NEW YORK - More than a jockey's name and a racehorse's strut should guide one's choice at the betting window. Researchers say what that potential winner eats may determine whether that horse makes it down the final stretch first. "You can change the muscle composition both with training and with diet," said Gary Potter, grofessor of animal science and orse program leader at Texas A & M University in College Station. "If the energy content of the mus­ cle is radically changed, then so is muscle performance." Genetics determines the speed at which a horse can run, said Pot­ to', but endurance varies ac­ cording to the amount of energy stored in muscles. That energy is tucked away in tissue as glycogen, a carbohydrate. "When the energy level is too low, it seriously impairs that horse's capabilities," Potter said. The horse may run fine at the beginning of the race but then peters out. The level of stored glycogen determines when they run out of gas." In laboratory tests on more than 2 5 h o r s e s , P o t t e r h a s demonstrated that diets low, in carbohydrates can decrease those storage levels by two-thirds. When fed hay supplemented with corn oil (asource of fat for energy) and a protein supplement, the horses tired easily in treadmill tests. "It really knocked the bottom out of them," he said. But meals rich in corn, which is packed with carbohydrates, restored normal stored-energy levels and even made them a third stronger than usual. With the muscles overloaded with glycogen, the horses were able to perform as well Or better as before, he said. When it comes to fodder, many trainers could do more to keep that muscle in peak condition. "The energy density of the diet needs to be higher than commonly practiced," said Potter. Also, most racehorse diets would benefit from increased B vitamins, which are necessary for ex- yet the for converting foods into energy. ' 'Carbohydrate loading," eating a big spaghetti dinner or lots of starchy foods the night before a race, is practiced by many human runners. That extra starch is thought to top off energy supplies within muscles and helps a runner sustain a faster pace, said Potter. It . may be possible to do the saine with horses. "We know how to do it perimentally, but we don't know about doing i| on racetrack," he said. What the ideal diet- racehorses should be is still not clear, said Potter. The digestive systems of horses are much more sensitive than those of people, so that trainers must be careful about altering their animals' foods. But meals rich in high-quality hay are bound to help, since that plus exercise can build up energy stores in muscles crucial for keep­ ing ahead even at the race's end. Next Potter said he hopes to try out some of his ideas about nutri­ tion on some racehorses actually in training. New Coke flavor is protested By United Press International SAN FRANCISCO - About 60 people, most of them curious onlookers, gathered in Union Square at a rally protesting the new flavor of Coca-Cola. Waving signs reading "New Coke? The gods must be crazy!" the protesters urged the public to give the soft drink's new flavor a resounding raspberry. "It's not Coke!" complained Ken Passameneck, 48, who said he had been drinking Coke all his life -- until recently when the flavor was changed. 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