Off the Cuff: Practice What You Preach

One of the clinical truths to which I subscribe is that you should always treat patients as you would want to be treated yourself. In this regard, I practice what I preach. I prescribe the same care products, lenses and medications for my family as I do for my patients, and I find that I maintain the closest relationships with companies with whom I see eye to eye.

I recently came across an interesting story that illustrates the ideal of practicing what you preach. Dr. Guy Knolle is a respected eye surgeon who practices in Houston. Among his many accomplishments is his pioneering work in phacoemulsification, the development of his own IOL and a stint as president of ASCRS. In addition to maintaining an active surgical practice, Dr. Knolle is also a private pilot as well as an avid golfer. All of these are visually demanding activities.

For most people, long lists of accomplishments come after long years of hard work--unfortunately, so do cataracts. So what IOL did a world-famous cataract surgeon choose to have implanted in his own eyes? After performing more than 400 Array procedures on his own patients, Dr. Knolle had a colleague, Dr. Bruce Wallace, do unto him as he had done unto many others. That fact says a great deal about Dr. Knolle, and it also offers insight into just how far multifocal IOLs have advanced. I do not look forward to my own cataract surgery (which I hope is many years off), but I would bet that when the time comes, my IOLs will also be multifocal.