ASCRS News
Summer 2024
by Sumit “Sam” Garg, MD
Chief Medical Editor
I wish for … many things. We all make wishes, both consciously and unconsciously, throughout the day. I wish the Lakers would have beaten the Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. I also wish for a better golf swing—sadly both things haven’t come true. With respect to our professional lives, many of us make wishes relevant to ophthalmology, such as outcomes for our patients, how our schedules work out, and to make meaningful impact on our communities. Wishful thinking spurs innovation, changes in clinical and surgical practice, and charitable initiatives, among other things.
As someone who has the opportunity to teach future generations of ophthalmologists, an adage that I was taught is that if you think that you should do something, do it! Otherwise, you may wish that you would have. Often as surgeons, we try to push through and “wish” we would have done whatever we thought about: place iris retractors, suture the cataract wound, optimize the ocular surface prior to surgery, take the time to fully explain expectations to a patient prior to surgery when in the middle of a busy clinic. Many times, nothing negative happens in these scenarios, but once in a while, you may be burned and wish that you could rewind and take a mulligan.
This issue highlights advancements and wish lists from our Editorial Board: refractive surgery hyperopic treatments and lenticule extraction; genetic testing that drives personalized medicine; updates in dry eye medications with hope for better coverage; glaucoma pearls from an expert panel; updates on viral keratitis; and much more.
Coming off of a productive ASCRS Annual Meeting, I am excited about the health of our organization. We had a strong turnout from our membership (despite the weather). We continue to strive to meet the evolving educational, skills transfer, philanthropic, and advocacy needs of the membership. With a strong foundation and a bright future, I wish for continued excellence for our organization, and health, happiness, and prosperity for all of you. As always, if you have any suggestions for topics, improvements, etc., please feel free to reach out to me at gargs@uci.edu.
