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4 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | APRIL 6, 2024 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS PUBLISHER Abigail Markward MANAGING DIRECTOR Stacy Jablonski EDITORIAL CO-DIRECTORS Ellen Stodola Liz Hillman GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Susan Steury Katherine Beutner PRODUCTION MANAGER Cathy Stern SALES, SPONSORSHIPS, AND CORPORATE PROGRAMS Jessica Donohoe Joe Dooley Cathy Stern V ance Thompson, MD, intro- duced the Steinert Refrac- tive Lecture during ASCRS Refractive Day. Before introducing the 2024 lecturer, Dr. Thompson said a few words about the namesake of the lecture, Roger Steinert, MD. "Roger Steinert was an expert in cornea, refractive, and cataract surgery," Dr. Thompson said. "He was an innovator and an amazing teacher and mentor to many of us. He was a past president of ASCRS, he was the past program chair. A lot of the great things you see about this meeting, he put into place. Roger was inducted into ASCRS Hall of Fame in 2022. We all miss him." This year, Stephen Slade, MD, delivered the Steinert Refractive Lecture. "I think the world of Steve Slade, who I have known my whole career, and what he has shared with the world of ophthalmology," Dr. Thompson said. Taking the stage, Dr. Slade said, "My advice to each and every one of you is to do something where you get introduced by Vance Thompson." He continued, "I'm extreme- ly grateful to get this award. … I believe I've made every ASCRS [meeting] since it became ASCRS. ASCRS is sort of our 'forever fellow- ship.' It's certainly where I come to learn, and I feel like a fellow at these meetings. Named lectures are special to me, and I've been privileged to give some. The thing is, if you know the person, it's really special. I knew Roger. … To give his named lecture is a distinct honor." Dr. Slade went on to discuss refractive lens exchange (RLE). This is something that patients "get," he said. Why are we doing all this RLE? It's because there are lenses that are finally good enough. We're doing surgery at a younger age, and that translates to more surgery. Dr. Slade went on to discuss operating on demanding Baby Boom- ers. "I know these people, and it's a value proposition because they're paying for it, so they're going to val- ue and look at risks versus benefits." They don't necessarily understand cataract risks, but he said he hopes the audience understands malprac- tice risk. Any accommodation is hard to give up, and myopia is hard to give up, too. Be comfortable with lens exchanges, he said. One lesson that Dr. Slade said he learned from LASIK was that uncorrected visual acuity drives sat- isfaction, and "we've seen that with RLE." You have to see really well at distance with no glasses. Another lesson he learned was about presbyopia. It's what almost all of our patients have and what we have the fewest options for. If you have a chance to alleviate that, that's a huge win, Dr. Slade said. When you sit down with these patients, Dr. Slade said to realize ex- pectations. Are you doing both eyes? What will the result be? What's the astigmatism? Make sure they under- stand that they may need a YAG or enhancement or glasses. Dr. Slade stressed that patients may not get the planned lens, so it's important that they know and understand this. What is the best lens? "I don't know if there is a best lens because these are individual patients," Dr. Slade said. "In my practice, every surgery day, we use the LAL [Rx- Sight], EDOFs, and multifocals because the most important thing we do is match the lens to the patient." Talk to patients and understand expectations, wants, what they do for a job. "What works the best, in my experience, [is to] tell them what lens you would have if you were them," he said. Editors' note: Dr. Slade has financial interests with a variety of ophthalmic companies. Steinert Refractive Lecture: 'RLE: What Would Roger Do?' Dr. Slade (left) gave the Steinert Refractive Lecture during ASCRS Refractive Day. He accepts the award from Dr. Thompson here. Source: ASCRS

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