This year has proven that while you cannot predict the future, you can certainly adapt to it — and ophthalmologists have done a lot of adapting this year, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have embraced social distancing, mask wearing and safety precautions with only a relatively mild decrease in patient volume. The forced cessation of elective visits and surgeries earlier in the year tipped the delicate balance of ophthalmic practices into the red zone and made us realize that our long-time employees are truly like family.

COMBINING CATARACT & REFRACTIVE SURGERY

Despite the present challenges, I believe now is a great time to be an ophthalmologist because our services are needed more than ever due to the aging baby boomer population.

Our patients now realize that addressing refractive issues at the time of cataract surgery is usually the best approach. We can treat myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and even presbyopia all at the same time that we remove the cataracts. This provides outstanding vision for nearly every patient, even those who have been burdened with high refractive errors for decades.

AN ASSIST FROM TECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUE

There are so many great technologies and new techniques that bring our patients more options than ever.

The spectrum of IOLs has widened and we now can offer our patients monofocal, bifocal, trifocal and extended depth of field options, each with the option of concomitant toric correction. Our level of precision for biometry is excellent, and newer approaches to IOL calculations using artificial intelligence and machine learning have increased accuracy and improved patient outcomes. We now routinely address glaucoma issues at the same time as cataract surgery, decreasing the eyedrop burden for our patients. Safety during phacoemulsification has been improved with the newer generation platforms, allowing for active infusion and monitoring of the fluidic parameters. We even have options for postoperative medication delivery that did not exist just a couple of years ago.

THE NEW NORMAL WITH MEETINGS & EDUCATION

We are also moving away from our large ophthalmology meetings with the ASCRS, ASRS and AAO all hosting online-only formats this year. While this has enabled us to learn from the comfort of home, it has taken away the best part of these meetings: spending time with friends and colleagues.

Ophthalmic education, particularly with regards to surgical techniques, has shifted to an online video format. Taking a clue from Amazon and Netflix, the best content is available for streaming anytime and no longer requires scheduling a specific date and time.

THANKFUL FOR MY ROLE

Every day I am thankful to be an ophthalmologist, because I enjoy using my hands (and brain) to give new vision to so many. I trust that you will enjoy reading this issue and learning about all of the products that allow us to deliver better vision to our patients.

Cataract surgery is among the most magical procedures in all of medicine, with the ability to make the blind see — and fix their refractive errors too! OM

Uday Devgan, MD, is in private practice at Devgan Eye Surgery in Los Angeles, Calif., partner at Specialty Surgical in Beverly Hills, chief of ophthalmology at Olive View UCLA Medical Center and clinical professor of ophthalmology with teaching honors at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the UCLA School of Medicine. He also owns and runs CataractCoach.com , a free teaching website.