Cataract
Fall 2025
by Mitchell Weikert, MD
Cataract Editor
As the leaves change (well, maybe not in Texas), we bring you the Fall issue of EyeWorld. Before highlighting this issue’s cataract- focused articles, I’d like to remind everyone of the ASCRS Live! meetings that are taking place across the country. ASCRS Live! offers the opportunity to discuss the latest innovations in, as well as the challenges facing, the practice of refractive cataract surgery. Other topics, such as glaucoma, ocular surface disease, and refractive surgery, are also covered in rotating, rapid-fire sessions. These intimate dinner meetings give attendees the chance to network with an ASCRS expert panel and their local colleagues. In 2025, we’ve already had meetings in Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia, with Cincinnati, Orlando, and Dallas left to finish out the year. We encourage you to seek one out if it’s within your reach.
I’d also like to bring your attention to the upcoming “Best of ASCRS” webinars that will highlight the top best of session papers presented at the 2025 ASCRS Annual Meeting. The best of cataract, refractive, cornea, and glaucoma topics will be covered. More information to come but look out for these webinars later this year.
Before highlighting this issue’s cataract-focused articles, I’d like to remind everyone of the ASCRS Live! meetings that are taking place across the country. ASCRS Live! offers the opportunity to discuss the latest innovations in, as well as the challenges facing, the practice of refractive cataract surgery.
The overarching theme for this issue of EyeWorld is “Beyond the routine.” I think we can all agree that secondary IOL fixation is rarely “routine.” These cases often involve eyes with complicated surgical histories or complex pathologies that create additional hurdles to overcome in their visual rehabilitation. In “Secondary IOL fixation: when to use, techniques, and other considerations,” David Crandall, MD, and John Hart Jr., MD, walk us through their thought process for when they are confronted with these challenging cases. After categorizing the more common etiologies resulting in the need for secondary IOL fixation, they review different surgical techniques and IOL options that can be used to manage these cases, including multiple tips that can help keep us out of trouble. They also include a reminder of the potential complications that can accompany these surgeries and provide key points for patient counseling.
While the recognition of the importance of addressing dry eye prior to cataract surgery may be considered fairly “routine” these days, the realities of its management continue to challenge us. In “Surface optimization—what’s reasonable?” Tal Raviv, MD, and William Trattler, MD, guide us through a targeted approach to this common condition that strives to increase our efficiency while reducing unnecessary testing, expense, and office visits. Their pearls for how to identify patients who will benefit from aggressive surface optimization versus those who will experience diminishing returns offer a practical approach to screening and management of this important but potentially time-consuming condition.
We hope you enjoy this month’s EyeWorld and take away a few pearls for managing cataract patients “beyond the routine.”
