Ophthalmology off the Grid by Eyetube

In this episode of Ophthalmology Off the Grid, hosts Blake K. Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, continue their residency-focused season with Rachel G. Simpson, MD, and Ayesha Patil, MD, MPH, of the Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah. They discuss what medical students should know about applying to ophthalmology, the importance of mentorship and culture during training, how residents...

Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, return for a new season of Ophthalmology off the Grid! This season, the hosts dive into the basics of training and education at the most prestigious programs in ophthalmology across the United States. In this episode, they invite Pavlina Kemp, MD, residency program director at the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and...

In this episode, Gary Wörtz, MD, invites Damien Gatinel, MD, PhD, to share insights into online ophthalmic simulators and tools to help surgeons improve refractive planning. They explore tools for corneal ablation depth predictions, IOL rotation optimization, and more. Dr. Gatinel explains how these simulations can be applied to real-world patient counseling and help ophthalmologists understand wh...

In this episode, hosts Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, invite Kenneth Beckman, MD, to discuss the recent FDA approval of Epioxa (Glaukos), an advancement in corneal crosslinking for the treatment of keratoconus that does not require the removal of the corneal epithelium. Dr. Beckman shares insights into the benefits and outcomes of this procedure and details from clinical trials.

In this episode, Joaquin De Rojas, MD, and Priya Mathews, MD, MPH, join hosts Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to discuss how the Tecnis Odyssey IOL differs from previous presbyopia-correcting lenses and how they approach lens selection for their patients. Dr. De Rojas also shares his experience with coding and the use of AI in his practice for digesting significant amounts of data t...

Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, invites Steven Dell, MD, to discuss the recent release of a new presbyopia drop—VIZZ (aceclidine ophthalmic solution, 1.44%; Lenz Therapeutics). Dr. Dell outlines why this drop represents a game-changing option for presbyopia therapy. The once-daily drop lasts for 10 hours and results in a sub-2-mm pupil size to achieve significant gains in near vision. They also review...

Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, sit down with Robert Weinstock, MD, to reflect on the field of ophthalmology and how to improve things for the next generation of physicians. They discuss pioneers in the field and how they shaped the cataract and refractive subspecialties into what they are today. Dr. Weinstock also shares perspectives into the fellowship match process and gives advi...

Morgan Micheletti, MD, joins hosts Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to review the evolution of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) and direct SLT (DSLT), highlighting Dr. Micheletti’s experience as an early adopter of DSLT. Dr. Micheletti shares how DSLT can increase efficiency, improve surgeon comfort with the procedure, and help guide patients in the interventional glaucoma treat...

Cathleen McCabe, MD, and Brent Saunders, chairman and CEO of Bausch + Lomb, join the podcast to break down details of the recent voluntary recall of enVista Aspire, enVista Envy, and certain enVista monofocal IOLs. Hosts Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, invite discussion on how the Bausch + Lomb team identified an issue, prioritized patient safety, and dove into the data to bring thi...

John Berdahl, MD, joins Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to share insights into the journey of turning an idea into a product. Dr. Berdahl highlights his experience with the research and development of pressure-equalizing goggles, a nonsurgical, nonpharmacological treatment to lower IOP by creating a small vacuum to relieve pressure on the optic nerve. He describes the positives and...

Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, invite Inder Paul Singh, MD, to the podcast to discuss the technology and innovation he uses in his practice, focusing on laser floater removal. Dr. Singh reviews 1-Step vitreous removal technology (Vista Ophthalmics) for treating symptomatic floaters and how it has revolutionized his practice and provided great outcomes for his patients. He also revi...

William Wiley, MD, joins Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to share his early experience with the VisuMax 800 (Carl Zeiss Meditec) for SMILE. The three surgeons also share experiences with other technologies and highlight the importance of embracing the learning curve to lead the way as an early adopter in ophthalmology. 

Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, invite William Plauché, MD, to review a presentation he recently delivered at the Caribbean Eye Meeting about his experience with PanOptix (Alcon), enVista Envy (Bausch + Lomb), and Tecnis Odyssey (Johnson & Johnson Vision) IOLs. The presentation compared similar amounts of patients and determined nuances between the three different kinds of lenses. D...

This year, the theme of our podcast will feature discussions of foundational equipment and emerging technology in ophthalmology. In the first episode of 2025, Roger Zaldivar, MD, MBA, joins Gary Wörtz, MD, to discuss the ICL Guru project and how its complex algorithm integrates with ultrasound biomicroscopy platforms. Dr. Zaldivar shares his experience with ICL surgery, and how he leveraged that e...

Rounding out this season’s theme of ‘Surgical Horror Stories,’ Jeffrey Whitsett, MD, joins Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to discuss his approach to managing the disappointment of poor surgical outcomes. He also shares a case example in which he encountered a complication during combination MIGS and cataract surgery, which resulted in a significant vitreous hemorrhage.. Drs. Whitse...

Gary Wörtz, MD, and Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, invite Nicole Fram, MD, to share a surgical horror story in which a patient experienced light arcs, starbursts, and halos after silicone IOL implantation. Dr. Fram describes her approach to IOL exchange using a Collamer lens with a larger optic to manage the positive dysphotopsias. She reviews the complications she encountered during the procedure, in...

For the Halloween episode of this season’s surgical horror stories, Cathleen McCabe, MD, joins Gary Wörtz, MD, and Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, to share two uniquely challenging cases. In the first case, Dr. McCabe describes the time she performed cataract surgery on a kyphotic patient who was unable to lie on his back for the procedure. She explains her approach to positioning the patient and how s...

Sebastian Heersink, MD, joins to contribute to this season’s theme of surgical horror stories. He talks with Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, about his experience performing cataract surgery on his father and former guest of the podcast, Marnix Heersink, MD. Dr. Sebastian Heersink recounts how he managed the stress of operating on a family member, and how he approached a less-than-pe...

Arsham Sheybani, MD, joins the podcast to continue this season’s theme of surgical horror stories. He shares a case example with Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, in which he performed lensectomy in the eye of a 60-year-old woman who presented with angle-closure glaucoma and very high IOP. Following routine phacoemulsification, the anterior chamber began to shallow, eventually resulti...

Continuing this season’s theme of surgical horror stories, Neda Shamie, MD, joins Gary Wörtz, MD, to share an experience from early in her career when she faced an unexpected complication. While performing penetrating keratoplasty on a well-known patient, Dr. Shamie encountered an expulsive hemorrhage. She highlights the value of mentorship in these situations and having a trusted colleague to hel...

William Trattler, MD, joins Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to share a story in which a referring optometrist’s family member presented with dark brunescent cataracts in both eyes. He describes his initial approach and technique for managing these advanced cataracts, including the unexpected complication of a dropped lens and capsular bag tear in the first eye. Weeks after referring...

Paul Walton, MD, continues the discussion with Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, on approaches to anesthesia and nuances to manage potentially difficult patients during cataract and refractive surgery. Dr. Walton shares pearls to ensure a smooth day in the operating room, mitigating potential ophthalmology ‘horror stories.’

Paul Walton, MD, joins Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to share concepts to help cataract and refractive surgeons avoid horror stories in the OR. He says the goal should always be to have a “boring” day, emphasizing the importance of communication and understanding with patients. The surgeons also detail their approaches to anesthesia and how to best comfort patients before, during,...

Nathan M. Radcliffe, MD, joins Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to share his experiences managing complex patients with advanced-stage glaucoma. He shares a specific case of an 83-year-old man with a cataract and exfoliation glaucoma with an IOP of 56 mm Hg. Dr. Radcliffe walks through how he managed complications he encountered during the combined cataract and glaucoma surgery, incl...

John Doane, MD, joins Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, and Gary Wörtz, MD, to share his experiences for this season’s theme of “Horror Stories” in cataract and refractive surgery. Dr. Doane reviews a few examples from his career in which he had to manage uniquely challenging situations and discusses what he learned from them. Listen to gain insights into his experiences using early surgical technology a...