Pupil Pod: Recent Episodes
Bryn Mawr Communications
See one. Do one. Teach one. A case-based podcast hosted by Sila Bal, MD, MPH, featuring all stages of the journey through ophthalmology, from first year residents to the leading experts. Learning by sharing.
Robert Melendez, MD, MBA, sits down with Sila Bal, MD, MPH, to discuss the case of a 32-year-old woman with a history of high myopia who came to the office for evaluation for refractive surgery. Dr. Melendez discusses which patients make good candidates for the EVO ICL (STAAR Surgical) versus traditional corneal refractive surgery. The two surgeons discuss the preoperative workups required for these cases and how to educate patients about the procedure. Dr. Melendez also shares surgical pearls he has gained from implanting these lenses.
Jayanth Sridhar, MD, joins Sila Bal, MD, MPH, to discuss a case in which a 32-year-old man presented with floaters and decreased visual acuity for 2 weeks. Upon examination, imaging revealed peripheral whitening of the retina and opacification with areas of hemorrhages. Dr. Sridhar explains his approach in cases of infectious retinitis, outlines treatment strategies, and highlights the importance of working with an infectious disease uveitis specialist.
In this episode, Morgan Micheletti, MD, joins Sila Bal, MD, MPH, to review a case of a 65-year-old woman with a history of high myopia and radial keratotomy who presented with pseudoexfoliation, a poorly dilated pupil, and a 3+ nuclear sclerotic cataract. Dr. Micheletti describes how he manages IOL calculations and preoperative assessments for patients with previous refractive surgery and outlines surgical insights in this case. He also explains considerations for patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and how to manage patients’ expectations of postoperative outcomes and recovery.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, invites David Khorram, MD, to discuss his experiences in global ophthalmology and how health care workers in remote regions of low- to middle- income countries treat ophthalmic patients. Dr. Khorram shares insights into the epidemiology of trachoma and how it is transmitted and treated. He also explains the advantages of performing manual small-incision cataract surgery over extracapsular cataract extraction in regions without access to phacoemulsification.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, is joined by Neda Shamie, MD, to discuss the demographics and risk factors for the development of keratoconus and the genetic predisposition, environmental risk factors, and clinical manifestations of the disease. Dr. Shamie also shares expert insight into treatment approaches for each stage of keratoconus severity.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, welcomes Amenze Osa Oriaifo, MD, to the Pupil Pod to discuss the potential risk factors for patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), ocular hypertension, and normal-tension glaucoma. Dr. Osa shares findings from the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial on the effectiveness of lowering IOP for patients with new POAG and results from the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study. The two physicians discuss how these findings should apply to patients’ cases to prevent glaucoma progression.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, continues her discussion with guest Elizabeth Shanika Esparaz, MD, in the second of a two-part episode of Pupil Pod’s diabetic retinopathy series. In the previous episode, Drs. Bal and Esparaz broke down the risks associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). This episode dives into the take-home points and clinical applications from the Diabetic Retinopathy Study and other research, and Dr. Esparaz shares her approach to treating patients with high-risk PDR and clinically significant diabetic macular edema in her practice.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, welcomes Jesse L. Berry, MD, to the Pupil Pod to discuss a complicated case of a 14-month-old patient who presents to the clinic with strabismus and leukocoria. Together, Drs. Bal and Berry run down the differences between heritable and nonheritable retinal diseases and provide a deep dive on the methods for identifying, treating, and managing retinoblastoma.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, and Eric Gaier, MD, PhD, discuss a case of a 4-year-old girl with mydriasis, ocular pain, and vision loss. The physicians provide tips for identifying neuro-ophthalmic diseases that can lead to vision loss before examining treatments for third nerve palsy.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, welcomes Neda Shamie, MD, to the Pupil Pod to discuss lens selection for a patient prior to cataract surgery. The pair review the Helmholtz accommodation theory, patient selection for the different types of IOLs, advancements in presbyopia treatment, and more.
Sila Bal, MD, MPH, welcomes Neda Nikpoor, MD, to the Pupil Pod to discuss some of the criteria when screening a patient prior to refractive surgery. Drs. Bal and Nikpoor discuss the most important parts of a patient’s social and medical history prior to operation, the risks which may present when operating on patients with preexisting ocular conditions, and other crucial conversations to have with patients before LASIK.
In this first of a two-part episode, Sila Bal, MD, MPH, is joined by Elizabeth Shanika Esparaz, MD, to discuss a 25-year-old newly diagnosed diabetic patient who experienced blurry vision and two episodes of subconjunctival hemorrhages in the 2 months prior. Drs. Bal and Esparaz walk through their initial screening process for patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and provide answers for some of the common questions asked by newly diagnosed diabetic patients.
In the debut episode of Pupil Pod, Sila Bal, MD, MPH, asks Alison Early, MD, to discuss the case of a patient who presented with a complaint of blurry vision 2 months after uncomplicated cataract surgery. Dr. Early describes the workup she performs in this situation when reassessing a patient and some of the potential diagnoses she considers initially.