An ophthalmologist made a keen observation that really resonates with me. He remarked about the recent increase in repurposing of medicines that have been used for a long time for glaucoma. In fact, some of the drops have been “used” for so long that they have been replaced by newer medications and are now rarely…

Most of the population is unfamiliar with the term “amblyopia,” and I can definitely see why; there is no obvious indication from the word to lead us to its definition, at least none that the world would be commonly familiar with. As a technical term, we ophthalmologists use amblyopia to mean a problem with vision…

Though this is not the first time I have had such a realization, learning new information can always be a humbling experience. I recently learned that having shingles on the skin around one’s eye can increase the risk of stroke. What’s even more curious and scary to me is that the average time from the…

Although the topic of vaccines is fraught with many diverse opinions these days, I would be remiss if I didn’t recount the major theme of an article I recently read in an ophthalmology journal. The authors investigate the rate of shingles in the upper face in patients who have had the Shingrix vaccine versus those…

Have you ever seen an infomercial in the wee hours of the morning, with each testimonial professing that the only thing stopping you from perfect vision is a lack of pinhole glasses? Well, to some extent, pinholes are great for vision! The main reason that people need glasses is that light rays coming into the…

In ophthalmology, “UGH” means a whole lot more than just an exasperated doctor. The acronym can be used to stand for Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema. Most of the time, Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema syndrome occurs when there is a lens implant placed in the eye in a not-so-great position. It then acts as a foreign object in the eyeball, rubbing on…

I think that I have mentioned this before, but, given the date on the calendar, I thought I should revisit the topic. There is a special type of cataract that can form in some eyes that is called a christmas tree cataract. It earns that name due to all of the multicolored reflections that one…

There was recently a discussion amongst some eye surgeons about new lens implants. (The necessary background here is that, following removal of a cataract, we almost always place a lens implant in the eye.) The prevailing opinion was that one of the really newest–“latest and greatest”–lens implant technologies is not giving the best outcomes after…

For a roundish object, thinking about length doesn’t seem to make much sense. However, when we do cataract surgery, we have to think a lot about the distance between the front of the eye (the cornea) and the back of the eye (the retina). This is because, during cataract surgery, we place a lens implant…

I recently heard about a question about how to handle patients with blurred vision who might have cataracts. Cataracts are one of the most common causes of blurred vision, so it is a common occurrence for patients to come in with blurred vision and for us to find cataracts as the cause. When I plan…