Eyeworld

APRIL 2023 | EYEWORLD | 47 In his lecture, Dr. Donnenfeld also plans to discuss limbal relaxing incisions (LRIs) and how they have gained popularity and improved qual- ity of vision in patients having cataract surgery. He'll talk about the nomogram he developed to make LRIs simpler. "I want to emphasize that innovation is not always making things more complex; sometimes innovation means making things simpler," he said. "That's what the nomo- gram I developed did—made it simpler—then we made it more accessible by working with in- dustry to put it on a website, LRIcalculator.com, [where] doctors from around the world could develop a plan for LRIs that not only included the length of the incisions but also the axis of the astigmatism using vector analysis to deter- mine where the incision should be placed." Dry eye and its effect on the ocular surface will also be a focus of Dr. Donnenfeld's lec- ture. He said he's extremely proud of his work managing dry eye and learning the association between this and surgical outcomes. "Originally, we never thought about how dry eye could im- pact surgical outcomes including visual results in LASIK and cataract surgery," he said. "I'll talk about the evolution of dry eye management and how new surgical techniques and pharmacolog- ical management have made dry eye manage- ment better, and because of this, we're getting better outcomes in our surgical results." He reiterated that the main focus of his lecture will be his progression from a traditional corneal-trained surgeon. "I was able to innovate in other areas because ASCRS gave me the tools to allow me to bring these different subspecial- ties together," he said. Dr. Donnenfeld is the founding partner of Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island and Connecticut, a trustee of Dartmouth Medical School, and a clinical professor of ophthalmol- ogy at New York University. He served as the chief medical editor of ASCRS' EyeWorld maga- zine and president of the Society. The Binkhorst Lecture and Medal were established in 1975 in honor of IOL pioneer Cornelius D. Binkhorst, MD. Each year, ASCRS awards the medal to an individual who has followed in Dr. Binkhorst's footsteps with outstanding contributions to the understanding and practice of anterior segment surgery. Binkhorst Lecture to highlight road to innovation E ric Donnenfeld, MD, will give this year's Binkhorst Lecture, titled "The Road to Innovation: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been." One point Dr. Donnenfeld wants to emphasize in his lecture is that the road to innovation is classically defined as standing on the shoulders of giants, but it's important to realize that there are people who aren't necessarily giants who play a significant role in innovation. "In my case, my affiliation with ASCRS has been one of the major factors that has led me down this road to innovation," he said. Dr. Donnenfeld began his career as a corne- al specialist, and through his work with ASCRS, he became a refractive surgeon, then a cataract surgeon. He's now even doing glaucoma surgery as well with MIGS. "ASCRS has provided me with the tools that have allowed me to reinvent myself every few years as new technology be- comes available," he said. "It also provided me with the tools I needed to innovate in other ar- eas so that while I always go back to my humble origins as a corneal specialist, I became interest- ed in refractive surgery, and it was augmented by my background in cornea." He noted that his early innovations in the field were in the areas where refractive surgery and corneal surgery intersected. Dr. Donnenfeld was an investigator for the excimer laser, and he started looking at how the excimer laser could be used for more than just refractive purpos- es, including ways that it could be applied for corneal diseases. "We started off by doing phototherapeutic keratectomy to remove scars with the laser," he said. "Eventually, we used a keratome, and now we're using the femtosecond laser to remove scars to improve the quality of vision in patients with superficial dystrophies." In refractive surgery, Dr. Donnenfeld said another aspect that he enjoyed was that it al- lowed him to improve visual results in patients who had penetrating keratoplasty. "I was privi- leged to be the first author of one of the first pa- pers to investigate performing LASIK to correct myopia and astigmatism following penetrating keratoplasty, 1 " he said. Contact Donnenfeld: ericdonnenfeld@gmail.com by Ellen Stodola Editorial Co-Director About the physician Eric Donnenfeld, MD Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island Garden City, New York Reference 1. Donnenfeld ED, et al. Laser in situ keratomileusis for correction of myopia and astigmatism after penetrating keratoplasty. Oph- thalmology. 1999;106:1966–1974.

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)