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Eye Surgery – Learning Curve
Article by Dr. Stephen Slade.
For Dr. Stephen Slade’s entire career, cataract surgery has been the one thing that has not needed relearning. If the resident Dr. Stephen Slade was 25 years ago could travel in time to an ophthalmic practice of today, phacoemulsification would be the only thing he would know how to do.
Today, however, laser cataract surgery is a reality. Dr. Stephen Slade’s LASIK patients have become his cataract patients, and the demographics promise increasing cataract surgical volume. After years of performing cataract surgery only one morning a month, he is now learning how to be a better cataract surgeon as well as a laser cataract surgeon. Dr. Slade’s new vocabulary includes Microincisional coaxial cataract surgery, cumulative dispersed energy, phaco tip angles, aspiration settings, and viscoelastics. Dr. Slade not alone: phaco courses are crowded, and refractive surgeons are taking sabbaticals overseas for real-life experience.
Dr. Stephen Slade has read books, listened to lectures, and watched videos to learn state-of-the-art phacoemulsification. His greatest learning experience, however, has been while demonstrating laser cataract surgery. Dr. Slade recommends a similar approach if you are learning a new technique, talk one on one with good surgeons. Of course, also take advantage of the all the new ways we have to learn—Eyetube.net, YouTube, chat boards, etc. Spend time on all of the aspects of surgery. Good surgery demands skill (good hands), practice, judgment, and experience. If you reduce one of these categories, the others will have to compensate to keep the surgery at the same level. With laser cataract surgery, for example, a month may elapse before Dr. Slade manually creates a capsulotomy.
Dr. Stephen Slade is in the midst of a learning curve, as is the technology. As amazing as laser cataract surgery technology is today, however, can you imagine how impressive it will be in 2 years or even 10? Cataract surgery has moved from analog to digital and will never look back. Actually, if Dr. Slade were that resident from 25 years ago and appeared in my clinic today, he might not even recognize cataract surgery.
Eye Doctor New Jersey – Kindermann Eye specializes in eye surgery, eye exams, comprehensive ophthalmology in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Dr Reed Kindermann specializes in cataract surgery and other vision correction procedures.
