Eyeworld

FALL 2026 | EYEWORLD | 77 G Relevant disclosures Funke: AbbVie, Alcon, Glaukos, Nova Eye Medical, Sight Sciences Goldburg: Nova Eye Medical Lin: None Contact Funke: christine.funke@bdpec.com Goldburg: samanthagoldburgmd@gmail.com Lin: Michael_Lin@meei.harvard.edu detect if glaucoma is well controlled, as well as additional testing to locate where the disease is affecting outflow. "Until we fully understand where to target the drainage obstruction, our efforts with medication and interventional glaucoma procedures will be less than perfect," she said. "Glaucoma is a challenging disease to manage and a challenging disease to be diagnosed with," Dr. Funke said. "As a provider group, we hope for a day when we can under- stand the immediate impact our treatments have on stunting vision loss. In the interim, we need to continue to trust the evidence presented in the myriad of studies available, use our best clinical judgment, and involve our patients in their individualized care." drug-eluting IOL, which could potentially deliv- er glaucoma medications over several years and be refilled. She is also encouraged by the rapid advances in neuroprotection and optic nerve regeneration, including neurotrophic factor delivery, gene therapy, and regenerative cell- based approaches. "Lowering IOP is currently the cornerstone of glaucoma treatment, but I'm excited by the possibility that, one day, we'll be able to do more than slow disease progression. We may eventually be able to restore retinal ganglion cell and optic nerve function in ways that aren't possible today. That would be truly transformative for our patients." Looking forward, Dr. Funke said there is still a need for diagnostic testing that can quickly "At 22 years old, standing at the scrub table in the operating room of Alan Crandall, MD, I watched ultrasound dissolve a dense white cata- ract through an incision that seemed impossibly small. It felt like watching the future. Like many young ophthalmologists, I assumed progress in medicine moved in one direction, and each new breakthrough quietly retired the one before it. "That belief followed me through residency. By the late 2000s, phacoemulsification had become so completely woven into cataract surgery that I never witnessed a manual extracapsular cataract removal. What had once been the foundation of cataract surgery had become, to my generation, little more than a chapter in his- tory. Or so I thought. While phaco transformed cataract surgery across much of the developed world, manual cataract surgery never stood still. The operation was refined, becoming faster, more elegant, and remarkably effective. What for many of us was resigned to history was, in fact, still invisibly moving forward. "Today, we are rediscovering that evolution. SICS has become an invaluable technique not only in resource-limited settings but also for any sur- geon facing complicated and complex cataracts where technical versatility can unlock better outcomes. We are not resurrecting an obsolete technique. We are rediscovering a surgical lan- guage that continued to evolve while we were busy writing our own next chapters. "Early in my career, innovation meant replac- ing old techniques with new ones. Experience has taught me something different. Innovation is integrating the best of what we have with the best of what others refine and share, often rediscovering ideas that we mistakenly believed belonged in the past. Curiosity will remain our greatest instrument. Every generation inherits remarkable advances. Wisdom comes from recognizing that each breakthrough is another chapter in our story, not its conclusion. "Rewind is not about returning to where we were. It is remembering what is still worth learn- ing. Refresh is seeing familiar ideas with new eyes. Refine is allowing experience—not novelty alone—to shape what comes next. The future of ophthalmology will undoubtedly be built on discoveries we cannot yet imagine. Yet history suggests that progress belongs not to those who forget the past but to those who carry its wisdom forward and remain curious enough to revisit ideas they once believed had nothing left to teach them." Jeff Pettey, MD, EyeWorld Cataract Editorial Board member, reflected on how ophthalmology is refining, combining, and reimagining modern care: REFRESH. REFINE. REWIND.

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