Eye to Eye: An Ophthalmology Podcast from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists

In this episode we speak with Kim Scrivener, the curriculum coordinator and Vikas Chadha, a consultant ophthalmologist from Gartnavel Hospital, Glasgow and the chair of the curriculum sub-committee.

In this episode we speak with Guy Hunter, a military ophthalmologist in training who speaks to us about his career choices as well as his experience of being the responsible medical officer on a navy submarine.

In this episode we speak to Dr Tommy Korn, an Ophthalmologist from San Diego, California about how he uses technology, particularly smartphone technology, to improve the efficiency of his practice, the quality of documentation and patient satisfaction.

This week is World Glaucoma Week. In this episode we speak with Neeru Vallabh and Andrew Tatham, Consultant Ophthalmologists with a special interest in Glaucoma. We discuss the relevance of Goldmann Applanation Tonometry in clinical practice as well as other methods of measuring intraocular pressure.

In this episode we speak with Amar Alwitry, a Consultant Ophthalmologist from Nottingham who has significant experience as an expert witness. He shares his advice on how to prevent medico-legal issues from occurring and what to do if you encounter such an issue.

In this episode with speak with Adam Bates, the lead for recruitment at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and get an insight into changes for the recruitment process for this year.

In this episode we speak with Sundas Maqsood about the importance of considering human factors in complication management as well as her experience of developing a programme for training human factors for ophthalmologists in training. Links to her relevant papers are below: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35368026/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35140330/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34975149/

In this episode with hear from Melanie Corbett and Rebecca Ford, Consultant Ophthalmologists who have been a part of the team developing the College's all new learning platform that has arrived and is now live. Don't forget to join the INSPIRE Webinar on Thursday 10 November 2022, 8.00-9.30pm to find out more about how to navigate the platform, find the materials you want and contribute to the teaching. https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/events-courses/rcophth-education/inspire-the-rcophth-online-learning-platform/

In this episode we speak with Steve Beet, the Editorial Office Coordinator and Professor Sobha Sivaprasad, the Editor in Chief at the Eye to get a behind the scenes insight into the running of the journal as well as top tips as to how to give your submission the best chance of success.

In this episode with speak with Dr Elizabeth Yeu, an Ophthalmologist from Virginia with a special interest in corneal, cataract and refractive surgery who tells us everything we need to know about demodex blepharitis including exciting new treatment options on the horizon.

In this episode we speak with Sohaib Rufai, an NIHR Doctoral Fellow and Academic Ophthalmology Registrar, about his work in Leicester and Great Ormond Street Hospital using handheld OCT in children with rare disease.

In this episode we speak with Julian Jackson, the founder of an independent social enterprise called Vision Bridge and a patient with Retinitis Pigmentosa himself. We spoke about his work and the technology that already exists that can have a profound impact to support the lives of patients with visual impairment.

In this episode we speak with Ocular Oncologist and Consultant Ophthalmologist Bertil Damato and A&E Service Director, deputy director of education and Consultant Ophthalmologist Gordon Hay both from Moorfields about the MOLES system; a scoring system used to risk stratify choroidal lesions. We speak about how the system was conceived and developed as well as the Moorfields experience of implementing this with a digital referrals system.

In this episode we speak with Venki Sundaram, a Consultant Ophthalmologist working at the Luton & Dunstable University Hospital. We talk about the journey he took in creating and curating the well known textbook 'Training in Ophthalmology' as well as tips and suggestions for those who might want to write their own book in the future.

In this episode we speak with Quresh Mohamed, a Consultant Ophthalmologist from Cheltenham. We discuss his paper entitled, 'Post-injection endophthalmitis rates with reduced povidone-iodine prophylaxis in patients with self-reported iodine sensitivity'.

In this episode with speak with Alessandro Rabiolo, a glaucoma fellow from Cheltenham about his recent paper, 'Hypotony-associated Complications after Deep Sclerectomy: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Long-Term Outcomes’. In addition to his paper, we discuss what exactly deep sclerectomy is, how it differs from trabeculectomy and how to treat hypotony.

In this episode we speak with Pearse Keane, a leader in AI within Ophthalmology and a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital. We talked about the differences between self-driving cars and Ophthalmology when it comes to machine learning. We took a deep dive into what the future might hold for the real world application of AI in our specialty and what the barriers might be.

In this episode we speak with Neto Rosatelli, a cataract surgeon and YouTube channel host from Brazil. He shares his experiences in Ophthalmology, including his journey of becoming a high volume cataract surgeon and provides advice for junior ophthalmologists on how to develop surgical skills and efficiency. Neto will be speaking at the 2021 College Congress at the OTG forum.

In this episode with speak with David Ramsey, an Ophthalmologist from the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Beth Israel Lahey Health, in Massachusetts, USA. We speak about his recent paper, 'Underdiagnosis of glaucoma in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration’ and discuss whether there is a link between glaucoma and wet-AMD and why that may be.

In this episode we speak with Abison Logeswaran, a Topol Digital Fellow and Registrar at Moorfields Eye Hospital and George Saleh, a Consultant Ophthalmologist and the Director of Simulation Training at Moorfields Eye Hospital. We discuss technology, specifically immersive technologies including augmented and virtual reality and how these will shape the future of surgical training in our specialty.

In this episode we speak with Mr Soupramanien Sandramouli, a Consultant Ophthalmologist in Wolverhampton and the previous CESR lead at the college. Mr Sandramouli shares his experiences and advice on how to succeed when preparing a CESR application and the common mistakes to be avoided.

In this episode we speak with Andrew Blaikie, a Consultant Ophthalmologist who works with NHS Fife and a Senior Lecturer in Infection and Global Health at the University of St Andrews. We spoke about the journey his career has taken him on with regards to involvement in international Ophthalmology and humanitarian work and specifically about the work he has been involved with regarding the development of Arclight, a low cost direct ophthalmoscope used all over the world.

In this episode with speak with David Lockington, one of the newly appointed simulation leads at the college and Jennifer Hind, the trainee simulation lead for the West of Scotland. We speak about their experiences of setting up their own simulation lab in Glasgow, their perceptions on the importance of simulation training and what the future might hold in the world of simulated ocular surgery. Resources discussed in this episode: https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/training/ost-information/simulation/ https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Web-doc-simulation-information.pdf https://www.simuleye.com/product-page/#laser http://simulatedocularsurgery.com

In this episode we speak with Sarah Maling, the lead for specialty recruitment. She provides an overview of what has changed for recruitment this year due to the pandemic and also answers questions that were submitted in advance of this podcast episode.

In this episode, recorded prior to the most recent lockdown restrictions, we spoke with Aman Chandra, a Consultant Vitreoretinal surgeon about his experiences, dating from the beginning of the pandemic to now, about the use of PPE for ophthalmic surgery and whether vitrectomy/phacoemulsification truly is an aerosol generating procedure

In this episode we speak with Kavita Aggarwal, an Ophthalmology Trainee from Oxford. She talks about wellbeing, how to stay healthy during the latest lockdown and provides some top tips on how to avoid burnout.

In this episode with speak with Melanie Hingorani, a Consultant Ophthalmologist from Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Clinical Lead for the National Outpatient Programme (NOTP) in Ophthalmology. We discuss the NOTP, why Ophthalmology has been chosen by NHS England to be the first specialty to take part in this programme and what it will mean for the future of the hospital eye service.

In this episode we speak with Andy Pyott, a Consultant Ophthalmologist from Inverness. He shared with us his experience of becoming involved with international Ophthalmology and summarised his achievements in Indonesia where he has focussed most of his efforts. He also shared a collection of pearls for Ophthalmologists who want to be involved with Ophthalmology overseas.

In this episode with speak with Bhavin Shah, an Optometrist from North London with a special interest in myopia management. He provides an overview of the literature regarding existing and future treatments and provides a personal insight into how he manages patients in whom progressive myopia is suspected.

In this episode we have a conversation with Professor Gordon Dutton about Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) and Functional Visual Loss. Professor Dutton provides a step by step guide to managing patients with CVI and provides some invaluable pearls of wisdom for approaching patients with suspected functional visual deficits.

In this episode we talk with Simerdip Kaur, an Ophthalmology trainee from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Deanery. She provides an in-depth overview of the most commonly used herbal remedies in Ophthalmology and summarises the evidence behind the claims we often hear from patients.

In this episode we speak with Samantha Hunt, an Ophthalmology registrar who works at the Bristol Eye Hospital. We discuss the topic of regional funding variations in Ophthalmology and hear about her paper which investigated the variations in policy from CCGs across the country with regards to how they fund oculoplastic procedures.

In this episode with speak with Mr. Saurabh Jain, a Consultant Ophthalmologist as well as the Training Programme Director for North London and the Clinical Lead for Ophthalmology for the Royal Free Hospital in London. We discuss his experience of coming to the UK, the level of diversity in Ophthalmology in the UK and what needs to be done to improve equality and diversity within our specialty and medicine in general.

In this episode we speak with Yu Jeat, an ST6 Trainee from the West-Midlands Deanery and Kate Silvester, a healthcare systems engineer on how to apply the principles of quality improvement to enact change in a hospital eye service. We discuss specific examples of changes that have been made in light of COVID-19. Both Yu Jeat and Kate Silvester would be happy to be contacted for advice on this topic, their contacts are Yu.Chong.2@city.ac.uk and Kate@katesilvester.co.uk respectively. The link to the Foundation of Improvement Science in Healthcare (FISH) Course: https://www.saasoft.co.uk/fish/course/ and https://www.improvementscience.co.uk

In this episode we talk to Marina Roizenblatt, a vitreoretinal surgeon from São Paulo, Brazil about her paper which investigated the effect of caffeine and propranolol on the surgical performance of vitreoretinal fellows using the EyeSi surgical simulator.

In this episode we hear from Mariantonia Ferrara a Medical and Surgical Retina Fellow from Newcastle and Kerr Brogan, a Glaucoma Fellow from Glasgow, about the results from surveys that they conducted during the pandemic that investigated the impact of COVID-19 on Ophthalmologists in Training. Varo Kirthi, the Chair of the Ophthalmologists in Training Group (OTG) then shares with us an overview of the role of the OTG and its importance during these challenging times.

In this episode we hear from Nimish Shah, the regional diabetic screening lead for Bath and North East Somerset. He talks to us about how COVID-19 affected the running of the diabetic screening service.

In this episode we hear from Vidushi Golash, a trainee from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex deanery about her experiences of setting up and running virtual consultations for Oculoplastics patients.

In this episode we hear from Nada Burgess, a trainee from West-Midlands who shares her highly personal experience of suffering from PTSD following being deployed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode we spoke with Helen Devonport, a Consultant Ophthalmologist from Bradford who shared her experience of how the COVID-19 crisis affected her medical retina service and the steps taken to ensure patients were kept safe.

In this episode we bring you the remaining interviews from what would have been the 'Everything you wanted to ask about keratoconus but were too afraid to ask’ at College Congress. This episode features four interviews with leading clinicians. Firstly we spoke with Riccardo Vinciguerra about corneal biomechanics. We then spoke with Damian Lake about surgical advances in keratoconus. Trusit Dave then gave us an overview of the use of contact lenses in keratoconus. To conclude the session we spoke with Sunil Shah who amongst other topics provided an overview regarding the management of keratoconus in children.

In the third episode we speak with Ankur Barua who would have chaired the session, ‘Everything you wanted to ask about keratoconus but were too afraid to ask’. Interviews with the other speakers from this symposium will be featured in the next episode of Eye to Eye. We then spoke briefly with two abstract holders about their work. Andrew Swampillai spoke about his paper, 'Confidence of UK ophthalmic trainees in managing posterior capsular rupture: results from a national Trainee Clinical Research Network survey'. Rachel Healy spoke about her paper, 'Ten-year outcomes in neovascular age-related macular degeneration, treated with anti-VEGF'

In this special series of episodes we cover content from the Congress that would have been. In the fourth episode we speak with Mr. Mike Burdon, the current president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and Mr. Bernie Chang, the incoming and newly elected president of our college.

In this special series of episodes we cover content from the Congress that would have been. In the third episode we speak with Professor Uday Devgan, the founder of cataractcoach.com and renowned Ophthalmic educator. We discussed top tips for junior cataract surgeons and advice for maintaining your skills during extended periods without operating. We then spoke briefly with two abstract holders about their work. Chris Way spoke about his paper, 'Technician assisted glaucoma virtual review and triage: The eradication a glaucoma pending list in a large district general hospital'. Nick Maycock spoke about his paper, 'Real-world clinical effectiveness and safety of cyclosporine 0.1% eye drops in dry eye disease and severe keratitis: PERSPECTIVE Study 24-week interim analysis'.

In this special series of episodes we cover content from the Congress that would have been. In the second episode Christina Rennie chairs her session entitled controversies in diabetic retinopathy. We then spoke briefly with three abstract holders about their work. Ketan Kapoor spoke about his paper, 'A clinical audit to evaluate an optometrist led rapid-access wet-AMD referral service'. Meriam Islam spoke about her paper, 'Home monitoring for patients with diabetic macula oedema: my doctor knows how I’m seeing every day'. Aidan Benson spoke about his paper, 'Ocular surface side-effects of novel biologic agent for the treatment of eczema, dupilumab: Real-world data from UK cohort'.

In this special series of episodes we cover content from the Congress that would have been. In the first episode we hear from Professor Andrew Lotery who talked about the VICI study which evaluated the use of Eplerenone as a treatment for chronic central serous retinopathy (CSCR). He also shared some clinical pearls for the management of CSCR. We then spoke briefly with three abstract holders about their work. Conor Lyons spoke about his paper, 'A Retrospective Analysis of MicroPulse Transscleral Cyclophotocoagulation'. Anna Song spoke about her paper, 'Keratoconus - is it reversible?'. Jasna Astalos spoke about her paper, 'Treatment of open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension with preservative-free tafluprost/timolol fixed-dose combination:12 week analysis (The VISIONARY Study)'.

In this episode we spoke with Hani Hasan, an Ophthalmologist at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. We talked his work related to the prediction and early identification of hydroxychloroquine maculopathy.

In this episode, Aman Chandra, a consultant vitreo-retinal surgeon and the Awards and Scholarships Lead at the college spoke with Professor Mario Romano, a vitreo-retinal surgeon working in the epicentre of the European COVID19 crisis in Milan. This extensive interview discusses a wide range of topics in regard to the current pandemic including Professor Romano's recent publication, 'Facing COVID-19 in Ophthalmology Department' which is linked below. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02713683.2020.1752737

In this episode we spoke with Anthony Khawaja, a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. We talked about the genetic basis of glaucoma, genetic testing and personalising the management of glaucoma.

In the latest episode of Eye to Eye, the podcast from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Miss Fiona Spencer, Chair of the Training Committee spoke about the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Ophthalmology and Ophthalmologists in training.