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OCT has made me a better ophthalmologist
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In our careers, we will encounter many technological advances in diagnostic equipment, medicines and surgical techniques — but a few stand out as changing the way we practice every day. The transition to small-incision and eventually clear corneal cataract surgery was for me a dramatic improvement about 15 years ago. Premium implants raised to a new level the benefits we can give a patient during cataract surgery. In the diagnostic arena, I think OCT has been the most impressive advancement during my career in ophthalmology.
Using a scanning laser, OCT can define microscopic anatomy in the retina and other ocular tissues, giving us three-dimensional information that was previously unavailable. This gives us the ability to diagnose many conditions such as epiretinal membranes and central serous retinopathy with high confidence and with a clear image we can show to patients. Moreover, it has actually improved my skills as an examiner, allowing me to correlate my exam findings with an objective three-dimensional view that not only confirms my findings but helps me to understand better how to interpret visual clues in the retina.
For many smaller practices, the cost of obtaining an OCT can be somewhat prohibitive. Nonetheless, I can’t imagine practicing today without it. Thankfully, there are now companies that offer traveling OCT machines for occasional use, and in most cities there’s a machine in at least one practice, so this technology should be available to most.
It’s exciting to see further developments in retinal imagining refining our ability to diagnose blinding diseases at a cellular level, and I look forward to using even newer techniques as they become available.