Ophthalmology
Expert insights on ocular conditions, surgical techniques, retinal disease, and vision-related management.
Recent Discussions
What pre-operative features in pseudoexfoliation patients do you feel correlate with intra-op zonulopathy?
This is an excellent question. Several factors play a role in the extent of zonulopathy that one may expect during pseudoexfoliation cases. A history of zonulopathy in the other eye or other factors that could contribute (trauma, falls, prior surgeries like retina procedures) would be one thing to l...
What has been your experience adopting office-based surgery and has it meaningfully improved patient access or practice efficiency?
We have demeaned and minimized what we do, and in response, Medicare and insurance companies have decreased our reimbursements. We (ophthalmologists) have advertised how easy cataract surgery is, and in general, what we do, and we are our own worst enemies.
In patients with a history of retinal vein occlusion, how should the risk of recurrent thromboembolic events influence the selection of osteoporosis therapies?
The FDA-approved prescribing information for raloxifene explicitly lists retinal vein thrombosis alongside deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism as contraindications.
How do you approach IOL calculations and selection in patients with keratoconus based on disease severity?
Lens selection assuming stable KCN and no plan for a transplant: Symmetrical astigmatism and they don't want to wear CL after surgery? Can consider a toric lens. Symmetrical astigmatism and they are okay with continuing RGP/sclerals? Monofocal aberration-free lens. Asymmetrical astigmatism and want...
What do you feel are some of the advantages and disadvantages of dropless cataract surgery and what are your preferred agents?
A clear advantage of dropless surgery is that the patient no longer needs to use post-op drops. This may not necessarily present as an advantage to the surgeon, as any additional techniques will add time and cost to the cataract surgery, especially if a particular technique is not covered by insuran...
How do you approach the management of epithelial ingrowth in a patient who underwent LASIK 20 years ago and developed epithelial ingrowth following recent cataract surgery?
If it’s a small area in the periphery, not causing any issue, then it would be reasonable to monitor it as it may not progress. If it is progressing or starting to cause issues, you can either try YAG, which may take more than one round, or simply lift the flap and scrape both the bed and underside ...
How do you decide the best way to treat glaucoma in patients with ICE syndrome given their higher risk of surgical failure and corneal complications?
In general, patients with ICE syndrome have unilateral refractory disease that often requires surgical management. MIGS procedures are not typically effective given the angle anatomy and progressive nature of the disease, and I usually perform tube shunt surgery in these cases. Placing the tube deep...
How should ectasia risk be triaged using RSB, PTA, and tomography?
Randleman ectasia risk score is very helpful in assessing the risks. It takes into consideration RSB PTA topography, CT, and age. Randleman Ectasia Risk Factor Score System
What are some special considerations for treatment of glaucoma and IOP lowering in patients with optic disc drusen?
Optic disc drusens (ODDs) in patients with glaucoma provide unique challenges for clinicians. ODDs on the surface of the optic disc are easy to spot; deeper (buried) DDs are difficult to diagnose. They require deeper B-scan cuts or require extended depth (ED) options. One must be cautious not to ove...
What clinical and diagnostic factors best predict who will benefit from intervention versus observation for patients with visually significant floaters?
There are no clinical or diagnostic factors that predict who will benefit from an intervention for vitreous floaters. Symptomatology from vitreous floaters is subjective. Patient-reported outcome measures after floaterectomy are also subjective. The improvement in symptoms following vitrectomy (I do...