Performing cataract surgery offers an introduction to intraocular surgery and is a foundational skill for comprehensive ophthalmologists and many subspecialists. The elegance of the surgery and the happy post-operative patients remind us why we chose to practice ophthalmology. Our residents get involved in cataract surgery early in their training and continue to build their skills over the following four years. A comprehensive wet lab is held every fall and covers everything from loading lenses to phacoemulsification - for many of our PGY1 residents this will be their first opportunity to practice complex bimanual and bipedal surgery. During PGY2 residents will begin performing independent cataract surgeries on their VA rotation. PGY3 brings continued surgical growth with more complex cases performed at UCSD while on the Cornea rotation. Finally, three rotations during PGY4 focus heavily on cataract surgery and allow residents to greatly increase their surgical numbers. These cases include highly complex surgeries, including post-operative, dense, or unstable cataracts, use of iris dilating devices, premium toric and multifocal lenses, and combination cases with minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries.
Residents have a robust oculoplastic experience in all 3 years of residency. At the VA, residents help manage functional, orbit, and lacrimal conditions in the clinic and in the operating room, working directly with our oculoplastic attending, first-hand. This allows for many learning opportunities including nuances on decision-making, and time for honing surgical skills. During PGY3 and PGY4 year rotations at Shiley Eye Institute, residents are key members of the busy oculoplastic service. Clinical case and photo/imaging reviews are held at the end of clinic days to enhance education. Residents participate in this highly surgical service where faculty are dedicated in building surgical skills and decision-making. In addition to functional and aesthetic cases, residents will gain significant exposure to complex conditions requiring an interdisciplinary team, including regular combo cases with ENT, neurosurgery, facial plastics, craniofacial, and dermatology. Clinicopathological conferences, journal clubs, and surgical wetlabs also supplement clinical and surgical teaching.
UCSD pairs with the Naval Medical Center to offer residents a unique opportunity to participate in a busy refractive clinic. Residents typically complete >50 cases of PRK, LASIK, and SMILE and can be certified on the Alcon EX500, Zeiss Visumax, and Alcon Allegretto. These certifications across multiple platforms offer a leg up to residents that pursue future comprehensive or cornea subspecialty positions. The refractive surgery experience during UCSD residency exceeds many refractive surgery fellowship programs.
We present a range of surgeries performed because some residents may focus on certain types of surgeries over others.
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