GLAUCOMA 36 EWAP MARCH 2024 Dr. Shen (left) teaches glaucoma surgery to glaucoma fellow Christina Lieu, MD, in the OR at Mass Eye and Ear. Source: Lucy Shen, MD L earning a variety of surgery techniques and clinical management approaches is important for surgeons in training. Several physicians discussed glaucoma training and some of the approaches being taught. The physicians also shared some of their personal experiences, including what they learned in training and since their training ended, and how these experiences have influenced them. Lucy Shen, MD, said it’s important to continue to learn and improve surgery even after training. When you’re in by Ellen Stodola Editorial Co - Director Contact information Lee: daniellee@willseye.org Mosaed: smosaed@hs.uci.edu Shen: lucy_shen@meei.harvard.edu training, you’re often focused on the numbers, like how many trabeculectomies or cataract surgeries you’ve done, and you don’t really think about how to incorporate new surgical techniques into your repertoire, she said. There are always new technologies and surgical techniques being developed. Once you are done with training, there are times where you have to reflect on what you’ve learned and think if you need to change to make your surgeries better because what you learned may not always work for your patient population or the surgical center that you’re at, she said. Lessons from glaucoma training This article originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of EyeWorld. It has been slightly modified and appears here with permission from the ASCRS Ophthalmic Services Corp. Dr. Shen added that the types of procedures surgeons do in training will often depend on where they train. For example, she didn’t do much angle-based surgery in training more than a decade ago but learned it after she was done with her fellowship. Daniel Lee, MD, said that he was exposed to a variety of approaches in glaucoma care in training. “This exposure provided me with insights into various treatment philosophies within glaucoma care and allowed me to explore a comprehensive range of therapeutic options,” he said. “My existing constructs and beliefs on the ‘right way’ to treat glaucoma have been consistently challenged, which fostered the development of an open-minded approach as a clinician. Rather than forming rigid opinions, I’ve embraced a more adaptable stance, which I think is crucial in navigating a field where gray areas are commonplace and there are usually several paths to the goal.” Sameh Mosaed thinks it is critical that trainees be exposed to various surgical techniques and learn where to apply them. Glaucoma surgeons work on the most complex cataracts, including those with pseudoexfoliation, angle closure cases with shallow chambers, flaccid irises, end -stage optic
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