An Issue of Abundance

Although we have different backgrounds, interests, and expertise, the three of us love to collaborate, educate, and elevate. We want to provide our patients with the best vision possible so that they can experience the precious gift of sight to the fullest.

Through the years, we’ve learned that our patients not only want to see their best, but also look their best. Patients trust us as their eye care providers, and the bond that is created in that relationship can be further strengthened by educating them about the perils of bad eye beauty habits and cosmetic saboteurs, and by providing them with alternatives and procedures that can help slow the effects of aging. I added an aesthetics niche to my practice years ago, and I am so grateful that I did. My patients are not only thankful for the information that I provide, but they are excited that I can help them put their best face forward.

We have an opportunity and an obligation to give our patients the correct information. In this issue of Modern Optometry, you’ll hear from four doctors who have found success in adding aesthetics to their optometric practices. You may notice some overlap in their stories, but the cohesion and commonality should give us all confidence in our abilities. Each of their articles reinforces our methodologies and provides us with new perspectives and information regarding available technologies. They each have great advice on how to move forward intentionally into the ocular aesthetics space. Melanie Denton Dombrowski, OD, MBA, FAAO, breaks down the stages of integrating aesthetics into an optometry practice, while Shane Swatts, OD, makes sure you know all the facts before you take the leap and invest in offering this service in your practice. You’ll learn about the benefits of the different devices, products, and eye beauty trends commonly used in ocular aesthetics from Hardeep K. Kataria, OD, FAAO. And Janelle L. Davison, OD, explains how rebranding some of your existing daily services can create an easy entry into aesthetics.

There are many other great articles in this issue. If you want insight into reviewing systems inside our offices that may need revisiting, then check out “Make Every Contact Lens Sale Count,” by Brianna Rhue, OD, FAAO, FSLS. And we all know that dry eye continues to be a hot topic, as so many of our patients struggle with this chronic condition. Justin Schweitzer, OD, FAAO, helps us elevate our dry eye strategies. And what about our patients with multiple diagnoses? How do we prioritize them? Ahmad Fahmy, OD, FAAO, walks us through an interesting case of a patient with primary open-angle glaucoma, Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, dry age-related macular degeneration, and ocular surface disease.

I love what I do, and I want to do it for as long as possible, given that I can do so comfortably. That’s why it’s important to form good postural habits when you’re young, and Byung Josh Kim, OD, FAAO, and Brianna Brim, PhD, MOT, OTR/L, CPAM, CLIPP, have put together an important piece providing pearls on keeping yourself whole and healthy throughout your career. Sathi Maiti, OD, inspires us with her account of volunteering her time. Christopher J. Borgman, OD, FAAO, teaches us a new way to look at how OCT can be used to accurately identify—or rule out—abnormal torsion. Finally, we have the always clever pearls from Jacob Lang, OD, FAAO, in his regular Snapshot column.

Your next best idea may be waiting inside these pages, so dive in!

—Selina McGee, OD, FAAO