6 EyeWorld Asia Pacific | June 2024 EDITORIAL This issue highlights one of the most ubiquitous problems faced daily by practicing ophthalmologists — the postoperative patient with persistent foreign body sensation. While there are several causes and associations for when a patient comes to you with intractable ocular surface symptoms, I think one key aspect that we must focus on is to listen to the patient. Often, both the cause and the remedy lie in hearing the patient out with your full attention. A careful history can reveal clues to underlying systemic conditions that may aggravate a postoperative dry eye, or to the presence of corneal pathology including recurrent erosion syndrome and epithelial basement membrane dystrophy. Paying careful attention to the patient’s symptoms and trying to understand their symptoms rather than only evaluating them with a clinical eye, also helps in allaying their anxiety around this rather frustrating condition. It is important that the patient feels we are a team working to find out and then treat the root cause of his/her symptoms. At the same time, it is vital that we rule out any serious pathology including associated intraocular inflammation or macular edema, especially in a postoperative patient. To be astute clinicians, we must keep in mind that it is the common causes that are the reason for postoperative foreign body sensation. However, when a patient does not respond to conventional treatment, one must look out for less-common causes, and this is where newer diagnostics will come in useful. In such cases, it is also a good practice to involve your colleague if you think the management plan that you have is not working for the patient. I think these are lessons that apply to any problem or situation. The cocktail of an empathetic approach, a sharp clinical sense, the use of newer diagnostic technology and teamwork usually yields good results for both the practice and the patient. This issue of the EyeWorld Asia-Pacific also highlights several upcoming technologies including the accommodative intraocular lenses, the use of virtual reality and artificial intelligence in the way we will practice and teach. I am sure you will all enjoy reading this issue. Abhay Vasavada Regional Managing Editor EyeWorld India
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