Martin Dirisamer, MD

At the virtual European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting, Martin Dirisamer, MD, PhD, speaks about femtosecond laser treatment of Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy without a graft.

This video shows a case in our series of Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty in challenging cases, soon due for publication.

This issue’s Refractive Surgery Story is the first of the series to discuss the SMILE procedure, an acronym for small-incision lenticule extraction performed with the Zeiss VisuMax laser. This procedure is not yet approved by the FDA in the U.S., and in fact, submission of data for myopic correction has just begun.

Corneal transplant techniques have been continuously evolving, and this has translated into patient benefits including quicker recovery, better vision and satisfaction. However, some new surgical techniques are particularly challenging and have a steep learning curve. This month, Martin Dirisamer and Ricarda Konder — who both worked closely with Gerrit Melles, the inventor of the procedure — tell us about endothelial keratoplasty techniques and tips for how to make the learning curve shorter and less stressful. – Anthony Khawaja, MB BS, MA(Cantab), MPhil, FRCOphth, Chair of the SOE Young Ophthalmologists committee