Blind Spot - The Eye Doctor's Podcast Zale Mednick

LASIK has been the procedure of choice in refractive surgery for many years now.  But over the last decade, the development of SMILE has changed the landscape in refractive surgery.  Especially popular in Europe and China, many ophthalmologists are offering their patients SMILE in place of LASIK.  So what exactly is SMILE, and why do many view it as a superior alternative to LASIK?  Dr. Walter Sekundo, the developer of the SMILE procedure, joins the podcast. 

As excitement grows regarding the upcoming solar eclipse, anxiety is also increasing amongst patients.  How should we be counseling concerned patients regarding the solar eclipse and what precautions they should be taking to protect their eyes? Dr. Tina Felfeli joins the podcast. 

Traditionally, most of us were taught that after cataract surgery, a patient should be assessed on day one, week one, and month one.  But what are these recommendations based on?  Practically speaking, does our typical survellance of post-operative cataract surgery patients make sense, or are we overly dogmatic in our approach? Dr. Uday Devgan, aka 'The Cataract Coach', joins the podcast. 

The traditional paradigm is that when a patient presents with acute angle closure due to pupil block, a peripheral iridotomy (PI) must be performed immediately. But in reality, is this always the best approach? Is it safe to treat medically for a period of time before the PI? In which situations might a PI actually exacerbate the acute angle closure? Dr. Ike Ahmed joins the podcast.

We all know that keratoconus is very highly associated with eye rubbing. But in general, the widely held belief has been that keratoconus is just associated with eye rubbing, one of multiple factors that leads to the condition. But have we gotten it wrong? Is eye rubbing not merely associated with keratoconus, but actually the sole causative factor of keratoconus? Has there been a huge blind spot in our basic understanding of keratoconus development and progression? Dr. Damien Gatinel joins the podcast.

Acetazolamide is a common and important medication used in ophthalmology. It is used as a treatment for both high intraocular pressure and high intracranial pressure. Yet despite its many uses, many ophthalmologists feel nervous when prescribing it due its potential side effects and the concern of sulfa allergy. And while caution is always a good thing, have we perhaps overstated the risks with acetazolamide to such a point that we don’t use it enough? What exactly is sulfa allergy, and does it even apply to acetazolamide? And how dangerous is acetazolamide, and how should we be counseling patients when prescribing it? Dr. Deborah Friedman joins the podcast.

Learn more about Dr. Friedman at www.neuroeyes.com