CRST: The Podcast

What does it take to make every surgical consultation feel individualized amid increasing pressure for efficiency? George O. Waring IV, MD, speaks with Alexandra Dean, Director of Practice Development at Waring Vision Institute, about building a counseling continuum that starts before the patient arrives and uses intake forms, previsit outreach, and cohesive handoffs to connect clinical recommendations with individual goals. Dean also shares practical guidance on training nonclinical counselors, using technology without losing the human touch, and creating an experience patients remember for how it made them feel. Related article: “Individualization at Every Touchpoint,” in Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today, June 2026

Listen as John F. Doane, MD, FACS; Sonny Goel, MD; and Robert T. Lin, MD, discuss the evidence-based keratorefractive lenticule extraction (KLEx) guidelines and how they align with real-world SMILE (Carl Zeiss Meditec) practice. At each step, the panel shares practical pearls to sharpen clinical judgment, refine surgical technique, and optimize SMILE outcomes.

In this podcast episode, Christine Funke, MD, is joined by Zarmeena Vendal, MD, and Lisa Feulner, MD, PhD, to discuss how surgeons can operationalize the use of iDose TR (Glaukos) and integrate this procedural pharmaceutical into their glaucoma treatment armamentarium. The discussion covers the barriers to implementation and next steps for integrating interventional glaucoma in practice.

George O. Waring IV, MD, FACS, speaks with Dagny C. Zhu, MD, about refractive lens exchange and her same-day bilateral refractive lens exchange workflow in an office-based surgery setting. Dr. Zhu discusses how refractive lens exchange fits into her cash-pay refractive practice, how her team screens and evaluates candidates, and the steps involved when patients proceed from consultation to surgery on the same day. She also shares her approach to diagnostic testing, patient counseling, premium IOL selection, oral sedation, femtosecond laser sequencing, refractive accuracy, and IOL calculations in eyes with a history of corneal refractive surgery.

Neda Shamie, MD, and Neda Nikpoor, MD, are joined by Eva Kim, MD, for a practical conversation on vision correction in patients with keratoconus and postrefractive ectasia. They discuss the evolving role of CXL, strategies for assessing corneal stability after CXL, and how to approach refractive decision-making in complex corneas.

Cathleen McCabe, MD, speaks with Sean Ianchulev, MD, MPH, about his recent article in CRST’s January issue, “AI Beyond the Clinic,” which provides a deep dive on how regulation and reimbursement accelerate AI and home monitoring beyond exam lanes and into patients' homes. Dr. Ianchulev shares insights into where AI currently impacts his clinic and the innovation he implements to elevate patient care. Related perspectives appear in the January issue of CRST.

Drs. Neda and Neda explore how modern refractive surgery is evolving beyond a one-size-fits-all LASIK model. They discuss next-generation laser vision correction based on highly personalized eye measurements, share real-world pearls on screening and counseling patients, and explain why they now frame patient visits as vision correction consultations rather than LASIK consults. They also touch on when lens-based options may be a better choice and how to build a truly comprehensive refractive practice.

Uday Devgan, MD, FACS, FRCS, speaks with Christopher E. Starr, MD, FACS, and Brian Shafer, MD, in two short segments drawn from CRST's October cover focus, "Refractive Cataract Roundtables." Dr. Starr reviews a practical approach to preoperative ocular surface optimization—key exam steps, stop-rules before biometry, and simple readiness markers. Dr. Shafer outlines his IOL decision framework, balancing spectacle independence and image quality, who is not a candidate for diffractive optics, and options for residual refractive error. Related perspectives appear in the October issue of CRST.

In this podcast, Audrey Talley Rostov, MD, and Nandini Venkateswaran, MD, discuss the following topics to help you get started with SMILE: What is SMILE Why they prefer SMILE How to get started with SMILE Common issues when getting started with SMILE: Centration, Identifying Surgical Planes, Difficult Dissections SMILE pre and post operative regimens Where each doctor positions SMILE in their practice

Suphi Taneri, MD, FEBOS-CR; Radhika Rampat, MBBS, BSc(Hons), FRCOphth, CertLRS, FWCRS; Gilles Lesieur, MD; Paul Dupeyre, MSc; Ben LaHood, MBChB, PGDipOphth, PhD, FRANZCO, FWCRS; Aylin Kiliç, MDRecorded live at ESCRS 2025 in Copenhagen, this special edition of CRST: The Podcast, presented by Eyetube’s Meeting Coverage, features leading voices reflecting on the innovations and discussions shaping this year’s meeting. Topics highlighted include: Emerging presbyopia-correcting IOL technologies (Suphi Taneri, MD, FEBOS-CR); Sustainability in ophthalmology and unconscious gender bias (Radhika Rampat, MBBS, BSc[Hons], FRCOphth, CertLRS, FWCRS); Frameworks to simplify premium IOL selection (Gilles Lesieur, MD, and Paul Dupeyre, MSc); Strategies for toric IOL optimization (Ben LaHood, MBChB, PGDipOphth, PhD, FRANZCO, FWCRS); and Advances in tissue addition techniques (Aylin Kiliç, MD)

Kevin Barber, MD, speaks with Cynthia Matossian, MD, and Sara O’Connor, MD, MPH, about strategies to address workforce shortages and training gaps in ophthalmic care. Dr. Matossian outlines the American College of Eye Technicians and its technician training model to expand career awareness and technical competency, and Dr. O’Connor describes ACE Global’s ophthalmic technician program in Honduras and a community health worker curriculum. Dr. Barber reviews distance surgical mentorship, a smartphone-to-microscope telementoring approach that supports ophthalmologists in low-resource settings as they transition to independent cataract surgery. Together, these initiatives illustrate a scalable, team-based pipeline to build capacity and reduce preventable blindness; related perspectives appear in CRST’s June 2025 “Bridging the Gap” issue. Related reading: "A Workforce Solution to Expand Access to Eye Care" "Scaling Surgical Mentorship Across Borders"

In this episode, experts in administrative support join Brandon D. Ayres, MD, to discuss their role in facilitating patient treatment for keratoconus. Susan DeGroot, MBA, executive director at Vance Thompson Vision, and Vivian Cole, BA, director of administrative services at Horizon Eye Specialists, explain their approaches to bringing patients into their practices, securing approval for crosslinking treatment, coordinating with referring doctors, and more. Test Your Knowledge HERE