One of the most amazing and dynamic ophthalmologists whom you will ever meet is Professor Ramesh Ayyala, Chairman of Ophthalmology at University of South Florida in Tampa. His path in ophthalmology has taken him around the world and as such he is licensed to practice in three continents. He specializes in both glaucoma and cornea and has given us some amazing videos here on CataractCoach. He is passionate about teaching the next generation of surgeons and also brining the best care to all...

Our podcast guest is Dr German Bianchi from Cordoba, Argentina where he specializes in cataract and refractive surgery. In addition to his busy surgical practice, he also teaches these techniques across the globe and through his meeting Oftalmo Cordoba which he co-hosts with others. In this podcast we discuss his approach to various surgical cases and his great experience with the IPCL phakic IOL (not currently available in the USA market) including the technique for best results. We...

Professor Gene de Juan Jr has an incredible lifetime of innovations and inventions where great ideas are turned into ophthalmology practice. In this episode we talk about his time at Duke University (with the father of vitrectomy, Prof Robert Machemer), the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California (USC). He is now a professor at UCSF and he leads ForSight Labs. You have certainly enjoyed using his inventions from small...

In this very special podcast episode, we feature a father-son due of Dr Luis J. Escaf and Dr Luis C. Escaf, both from Barranquilla, Colombia at the Clinica Oftalmologica del Caribe. This podcast is also about half in English and half in Spanish. The story behind this amazing clinic is very compelling: it started with just a single exam room and now it is a huge facility with more than 50 doctors, treating thousands of patients per day. We feature a new podcast every week on Sundays and they...

Dr Audrey Rostov is a talented corneal and cataract surgeon in the Seattle area with a passion of combining aspects of private practice with global surgical teaching. She reflects back on her past decades and offers some critically important advice for navigating the different periods of our careers and also how to change gears and pivot. Great pearls of wisdom which I wished I learned earlier in life. If you are a younger ophthalmologist, this is amazing knowledge to glean now. We feature a...

Dr John Berdahl is an anterior segment surgeon in South Dakota USA with a special interest in glaucoma. In this podcast he explains how he approaches the physics of glaucoma and asks us if intra-cranial pressure can affect glaucoma. It is an interesting question and I think that he is truly on to something. Perhaps we need to rethink the way that we treat glaucoma in order to help preserve vision in our patients. A truly fascinating discussion and food for thought. We feature a new podcast...

Professor Shady Awwad is a refractive surgeon with a deep expertise in complex cases including helping patients who need multiple procedures such as cross-linking, corneal stromal allogenic implants, excimer laser ablation, and then phakic IOL implantation. His revolutionary way of thinking has earned him the Waring Medal in ophthalmology and he continues to innovate. In this podcast we discuss just how much refractive surgery has progressed and where it is headed in the future. The top...

Dr Mitch Jackson is a refractive, cataract, and anterior segment surgeon in the Chicago area with a zest for life who is also a world-class DJ with a deep expertise in music. He has been through family challenges where has learn from his late brother to say, "I did" instead of "I wish" and that is a fantastic philosophy. He has built a busy private practice and has been involved in the evolution of refractive surgery, both corneal and lenticular. His work as a professional DJ and his status...

Dr Inder Paul Singh is a glaucoma and cataract surgeon in Wisconsin, USA where he runs a private practice that was started by his father many decades ago. Paul is a great surgeon and a fantastic teacher and he helps educate practicing ophthalmologists like us about the new techniques and technologies that are being developed. In this podcast we talk about all kids of MIGS (minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries), YAG laser for vitreous floaters, single-handed vitrectomy, and even lasers for...

Dr Ralph Chu is a cataract, glaucoma, and refractive surgeon in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA where he started his practice 25 years ago. He's a brilliant clinician, a talented surgeon, and a great speaker at national and international ophthalmology meetings. In this podcast you get to learn from two old friends catching up about the journey so far and about the secrets to success. We also cover the lessons that we learned the hard way and that we hope to convey to the next generation. If you...

Dr Soosan Jacob is an innovative ophthalmologist who has a novel surgical approach to treating corneal ectasia and keratoconus. Her technique is CAIRS: Corneal Allogenic Intra-Stromal Ring Segments where donor corneal stromal tissue is used to bolster the cornea instead of using plastic implants. This allogenic tissue provides a more natural result and it is better tolerated than the man-made implants. She has a brilliant mind and an insightful way of approaching ophthalmic challenges. You...

Dr Darrell White is an ophthalmologist in Ohio, USA where he specializes in anterior segment surgery, dry eyes, and refractive surgery. He is an amazing writer and posts a regular blog about ophthalmology topics. Dr White is also a truly wise man and offers so much great advice and pearls of wisdom that we wish we knew at age 30. If you are a younger ophthalmologist, I promise that you will learn so much from this podcast -- sage advice that will help you succeed and make your ophthalmology...

Dr Robert Weinstock is a cataract, refractive, and anterior segment surgeon in Largo, Florida, USA and directs a fellowship at the Eye Institute of West Florida, a practice that his father started 50 years ago. He is a big proponent of bimanual phaco which gained in popularity about 15 years ago (even I tried it for a while) and for innovative thinking for complex eyes such as using double toric IOLs in the capsular bag. In this podcast he also shares great insight for young ophthalmologists...

Professor David Lockington is passionate about mentorship, surgical learning, and he is the upcoming president for the UKISCRS (United Kingdom & Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons). He will be bringing his Glaswegian charm to the upcoming meeting in November celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the IOL. It is set to be a great event celebrating Ridley's instrumental concept of implanting an IOL and I will see you there in London. In this podcast we learn about the...

Dr Abha Amin is an expert cataract, corneal, and glaucoma surgeon who does a great job with very complex anterior segment cases and ocular trauma. She gave a recent presentation where she shared pearls for these difficult cases and I was taking notes. In this podcast she explains her background and pathway including the double-fellowship training and then shares her secrets for success in conquering tough cases. We speak about one recent case where a toric IOL was dangling in the vitreous...

Dr Roger Zaldivar is a refractive and cataract surgeon at the Instituto Zaldivar in Mendoza, Argentina, a multi-generation ophthalmology practice. Recently he has produced an AI method of sizing phakic IOLs like the Visian ICL using image data from ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). And his practice now often prefers implanting a phakic IOL instead of corneal laser vision correction and he implants about 1000 phakic lens implants per year. In this podcast we talk all about phakic IOLs, choosing...

Dr Shannon Wong is an ophthalmologist specializing in cataract and refractive surgery in Austin, Texas, USA and he also maintains a very active and popular YouTube channel where he educates both patients and surgeons. I have personally visited his beautiful practice, Austin Eye, and I was even a guest on his podcast 2 years ago. In this podcast we cover so many interesting topics besides the YouTube videos and we get an insight into improving our own practices. Shannon even gives his...

Dr Francesco Carones has been passionate about cataract surgery for many decades and that also includes delivering the best possible patient experience. In that regard, he started the ophthalpreneurs society and annual meeting with the next one scheduled for April 10-13, 2025 in Taormina, Sicily, Italy. I am planning on attending that meeting so that I can learn great pearls from my peers in order to improve my own surgical practice. This podcast covers that meeting, the idea of a patient...

Prof. Chris Teng is a glaucoma and anterior segment specialist at the Yale School of Medicine where he heads his division and directs the fellowship. He also has a keen interest in entrepreneurship and he went back to school mid-career to complete an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He encourages all ophthalmologist to pursue their own entrepreneurial spirit and start a side business. He started Sosheeny which manufactures and sells tote bags of different designs (watch the video to...

Prof. Arthur Cummings has spent decades traveling the world to teach fellow ophthalmologists about the full spectrum of refractive surgery, both corneal and lenticular. He has delivered more than 500 lectures and I have benefitted from his keen insight into surgical techniques and concepts. I recently had dinner with him in Rio de Janeiro at the Brazilian Cataract & Refractive meeting and it was a pleasure. I knew that I must invite him to our podcast so that we can all learn together...

Professor Renato Ambrósio Jr is a world-class refractive surgeon-scientist with major areas of interest of corneal/refractive diagnostics, custom laser vision correction, refractive cataract surgery and therapeutic procedures for keratoconus. Besides his busy academic appointments, he is in private practice in Rio de Janeiro: Instituto de Olhos Renato Ambrósio and VisareRIO – Refracta Personal Laser. He has truly advanced our field and you will notice his name in your corneal topographer with...

Dr Juan Batlle is the founder of Centro Láser in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and the founder of the Elías Santana Hospital, a project that allows people in vulnerable conditions, access to much needed ophthalmic medicine, care and vision correction services. He has also participated in many clinical trials for the devices, implants, and technologies that we use in our operating rooms every day. Many companies do their first outside-the-USA clinical trials at his center. He has...

Dr Gary Wörtz is a cataract and refractive surgeon in Kentucky, USA where he is busy clinically and an Associate Professor. Beyond being a surgeon, consultant and educator, Dr. Wörtz is a successful inventor and entrepreneur. Ten years ago, he founded Omega Ophthalmics with the mission of developing a new intra-ocular implant platform. He has been granted 50 patents in the US and internationally. He also co-founded Arcuate Innovations, which provides evidence-based guidance for the...

Dr Cynthia Matossian founded Matossian Eye Associates which grew into a large practice and then was transferred to an even larger ophthalmic group. An Emeritus board-certified refractive cataract surgeon, she specializes in Dry Eye and Ocular Surface Disease. She is also the CEO of GPOphtho, a group purchasing organization for ophthalmology. Dr. Matossian is also a consultant and advisor with multiple pharma and medical device companies within the eye space. She has experienced an incredible...