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Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles
Season 1
About Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles Season 1
The twelve episodes of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles Season 1 were released between November 2020 and January 2022. These archived episodes are available to view in video or audio format below. All episodes from Season 1 are non-CME.

Live Quicksand Chronicles Bonus Episode: ASCRS 2021 Annual Meeting
Recorded July 2021
Watch this live session that took place at the 2021 ASCRS Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. The first part of this session features 3 KOL’s from our industry partners, BVI, Zeiss and MST. Hosts, Dr. Fram and Dr. Yeu engages in discussion with these opinion leaders who discuss how their technology can help surgeons get out of their own “quicksand moments.” The second part of this session features, Dr. Nandini Venkateswaran from Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Venkateswaran showcases her first ever Cataract surgery + DMEK combo case in her first year of practice. This seemingly straightforward case was much more circuitous than she had imagined. Watch now to see the lessons that Dr. Venkateswaran learned along the way and how this quicksand moment case helped her evolve.
View the Bonus Episode

Episode #12 | THOMAS OETTING: All Tangled Up
January 2022
Watch—or listen—to the final episode of Season 1 of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles where the hosts are joined by Thomas Oetting, MD. Dr. Oetting is an incredible surgeon/educator who has made—and continues to make—a tremendous impact in the field of ophthalmology. Tune in to the last episode of the season with Dr. Oetting, sharing a quicksand moment where he tackles an eye with a very mature cataract with a fibrotic anterior capsule and diffusely loose zonules.
View Episode 12

Episode #11 | LISA ARBISSER: The Fluidics Fumble: (Don’t) Feel the Burn
October 2021
Watch—or listen—to this episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles where our hosts are joined by the legendary Dr. Arbisser. Dr. Arbisser is not only a tremendous surgeon but her contribution to ophthalmology through education, research, and mentorship have created a lasting effect in the field of ophthalmology. Dr. Arbisser is known for teaching surgeons how to watch for the signs and avoid complications.
This episode is sponsored by Bausch + Lomb and Diamatrix.
View Episode 11
This episode is sponsored by Bausch + Lomb and Diamatrix.
Episode #10 | ZAINA AL-MOHTASEB: The Unrelenting Uveitic Cataract
August 2021
Watch—or listen—to this episode of Quicksand Chronicles where our hosts are joined by Dr. Al-Mohtaseb, an incredible surgeon, teacher, and recognized leader in the field of ophthalmology. Dr. Al-Mohtaseb showcases one of the toughest cases she has staffed at the county hospital. Dr. Al-Mohtaseb describes her decision making, how she shifted from observing to taking over the case, given the complex posterior synechiae, thick pupillary membrane, and diffuse zonulopathy.
This episode is sponsored by Ocular Therapeutix and Glaukos.
View Episode 10
This episode is sponsored by Ocular Therapeutix and Glaukos.

Episode #9 | BRANDON AYRES: Humbling Hurdles of IOL Fixation
June 2021
Watch—or listen—to this episode of Quicksand Chronicles where hosts are joined by Dr. Brandon Ayres. In addition to being a world-class surgeon, Dr. Ayres dives into a quicksand moment of a patient who has a dislocated multifocal IOL from a golf ball. After what he thought was a “successful” procedure of recentering the original multifocal IOL, Dr. Ayres thought he was king of the world. That all came crashing down when he received a text from the patient 3 days later where his IOL looked completely sideways. Tune in to see what Dr. Ayres does to fix this complex IOL issue!
This episode is sponsored by Tarsus.
View Episode 9
This episode is sponsored by Tarsus.

Episode #8 | ROSA BRAGA-MELE: The Mature Intumescent Lens -Eye Cried For Me, Argentina!
June 2021
Watch—or listen—to this episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles featuring Rosa Braga-Mele, MD. Dr. Braga-Mele discusses her passionate commitment to motherhood, teaching the next generation of surgeons, clinical care of her patients, and athletics. Dr. Braga-Mele will showcase a quicksand moment where a sudden burst of positive pressure at the wrong time led to one of the most common complications of operating on a dense white cataract.
This episode is sponsored by Alcon.
View Episode 8
This episode is sponsored by Alcon.

Episode #7 | ASHVIN AGARWAL: The Complexities of the Colobomatous Eye
April 2021
Watch—or listen—as the hosts and Dr. Agarwal discuss his quicksand moments, the cases that took him a few days to recover from. He reflects on difficult surgical cases: one that went wrong from the start, where MAC was chosen in lieu of general anesthesia for a cognitively challenged young patient and another involving a colobomatous eye, complicated by a mature lens and hours of missing zonules. Join us as Dr. Agarwal shares his profound surgical, clinical, and personal pearls gained through the evolution of his quicksand moments.
This episode is sponsored by Orasis Pharmaceuticals.
View Episode 7
This episode is sponsored by Orasis Pharmaceuticals.

Episode #6 | JOHN BERDAHL: The Pressure is On!
March 2021
Listen and join us for this episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles featuring John Berdahl, MD. Dr. Berdahl will showcase a quicksand moment where a patient with a history of trauma and a sutured Ophtec Artificial Iris/IOL undergoes an istent and ECP for uncontrolled IOP. After the ECP is completed, the chamber begins to shallow, the red reflex is lost, and the pressure is on! This quicksand moment emphasizes the importance of pivoting, getting the complication under control, and how to process the most devastating complication in Ophthalmology…an expulsive suprachoroidal hemorrhage.
This episode is sponsored by Tarsus.
View Episode 6
This episode is sponsored by Tarsus.

Episode #5 | MARJAN FARID: The Tale of the Tennis Ball and the Traumatic Cataract
March 2021
Listen and join us for this episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles featuring Marjan Farid, MD. Dr. Farid will dive deep into a challenging cataract surgery, where the degree of capsular support was unknown until she was in the eye. Every step presents a new, complex challenge, starting with the very loose and dense lens. Watch and listen as Dr. Farid teaches us a novel way to perform a Yamane technique for scleral IOL fixation. The final Quicksand teaching moment occurs when she manages the decentered and tilted IOL.
This episode is sponsored by CorneaGen.
View Episode 5
This episode is sponsored by CorneaGen.

Episode #4 | CATHLEEN MCCABE: Lasso Loop the Loose Lens!
February 2021
Listen and join us for this episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles featuring Dr. Cathleen McCabe. In this spotlight innovation episode, Dr. McCabe will share her belt loop innovation using a Prolene 5-0/6-0 suture to scleral fixate a dislocated intraocular lens. While creatively devising the belt loop, double-flange technique, Dr. McCabe delves into the quicksand moments involved while innovating this new technique.
This episode is sponsored by SBH.
View Episode 4
This episode is sponsored by SBH.

Episode #3 | ERIC DONNENFELD: Fixing the Follies of a Falling Lens
February 2021
Listen and join us for this episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles featuring Dr. Eric Donnenfeld. In addition to a nearly 30-year successful career as a Refractive and Cataract surgeon, Dr. Donnenfeld gets personal as he describes the multiple hats that he wears, as a husband, parent, educator, mentor, researcher, and innovating partner to industry. In this episode, hear about 2 quicksand moments that Dr. Donnenfeld experiences in the OR, from managing unexpected vitreous loss to surgical correction of multiple intraocular lens surprises with IOL exchange surgery.
This episode is sponsored by OSRX and BVI.
View Episode 3
This episode is sponsored by OSRX and BVI.

Episode #2 | CATHLEEN MCCABE: Runaway Rhexis
December 2020
Listen and join us for this episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles with our guest, Dr. Cathleen McCabe. Hear about Dr. McCabe’s quicksand moment where an unexpected capsule tear extends from the anterior capsule straight across the posterior capsule. In this quicksand moment, Dr. McCabe emphasizes how to prevent such capsule tears, and pearls on how to prevent vitreous prolapse.
This episode is sponsored by BVI.
View Episode 2
This episode is sponsored by BVI.

Episode #1 | IKE AHMED: Small Eye, Big Problem
November 2020
Listen and join us for the first-ever episode of Ophthalmology Quicksand Chronicles with hosts Drs. Nicole Fram and Elizabeth Yeu. In this episode, hear about the origin of the quicksand chronicles podcast where the hosts will dive deep into the psychology of how to prepare for challenging cases, evolve, and improve as a result. In this episode, Dr. Ike Ahmed from Prism Eye Institution will share one of his most challenging quicksand moments with the surgical management of a nanophthalmic eye, and learn how this complex case helped Dr. Ahmed pivot and move forward as an even greater surgeon.
This episode is sponsored by MST.
View Episode 1
This episode is sponsored by MST.