By Marguerite B. McDonald, MD

Antibiotics were considered “miracle” drugs when they were introduced in the middle of the 20th century. However, bacterial resistance soon emerged, and today resistance continues to increase at an alarming rate. Organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus epidermidis and vancomycin-resistant S aureus and Enterococci, as well as the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, have created a serious challenge to the treatment of infectious diseases. Ready Full Story.

Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scrubs, House, Nip/Tuck, ER (my favorite that just went off the air) – why are there so many TV shows about physicians? My simple answer is that nothing is quite as compelling or as important as making a difference in people’s lives. As a whole, we ophthalmologists do good work on a daily basis, but it simply is not enough. Our neighbors need a helping hand now more than ever, and we are in a position to make a difference.

President Barack Obama, a fervent proponent of volunteerism, has said, “Service binds us to each other and to our community and our country in a way that nothing else can. I am extremely proud of my practice, which has more than 20 doctors and hundreds of staff members. As with most ophthalmology practices, my colleagues and I take good care of our patients, including those who cannot afford our care. In addition, the staff makes a concerted effort to give back to the community. Each day that I walk into the office, I am greeted by a bake sale, food drive, or walk-a-thon for an important community-related charity. Our practice has become a part of the community it serves, and the staff and physicians are bound together in a way that goes beyond ophthalmology and patients’ care. The office is full of ordinary people who perform extraordinary acts by volunteering. They contribute time, effort, and energy to support programs our community deserves.

Everyone needs inspiration and passion in his or her life. Both may be found by volunteering. Readers can teach residents, write articles (like the authors in this month’s edition of Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today who donated their time to advance patients’ care), join community groups, or coach Little League. They can create an office environment that supports volunteering. My belated New Year’s wish is that readers join me in thanking the volunteers everywhere who may never be portrayed on a TV show but who truly make a difference.

To learn more about Dr. Donnenfeld or the other members of Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island visit www.ocli.net

On February 5th, Dr. Marguerite McDonald attended the 24th International Congress of the Hellenic Society of Intraocular Implant and Refractive Surgery (the Greek version of ASCRS) where she was presented the Fyodorov Award.

Every two years the Hellenic Society presents the Svyatoslav N. Fyodorov Award to distinguished Greek or foreign ophthalmologists, for their contribution to the field of Refractive Surgery. This year, the HSIOIRS Board of Directors has selected Dr. McDonald as recipient of the Fyodorov Award 2010, in appreciation of her great contribution to ophthalmic surgery, not only as a surgeon but also as a great tutor. Dr. McDonald is the first female recipient of this award.

New documentary explores life and work of medical maverick, “grandfather of small incision surgeries”

Through My Eyes: The Charlie Kelman Story

Premieres nationwide Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 9 p.m. on public television (check local listings)

Through My Eyes: The Charlie Kelman Story celebrates the jazzy double life of ophthalmologist Dr. Charles D. Kelman. The one-hour documentary is at once a fascinating study of scientific discovery; a rumination on the dynamic of fathers and sons; a cloak-and-dagger adventure; and a one-of-a-kind success story launched at the intersection of failure, fame and fate that gives hope to anyone who has ever harbored a secret dream. Produced by New York metro area public television station   WLIW21, the program premieres nationwide on public television Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 9 p.m. (check local listings). Preview video and more at wliw.org/kelman.

“WLIW21 has introduced U.S. television audiences to people and places they might not discover on their own, from performers like Celtic Thunder to the cities we fly over in our Visions® travel series,” says Executive Producer Roy A Hammond. “Through My Eyes: The Charlie Kelman Story finally pays homage to the man whose inventions have touched millions of lives worldwide and whose name should be a household name.”

In The Charlie Kelman Story public television viewers meet a man who reached the pinnacle of success in the wrong profession: the musician who invented the groundbreaking surgical procedure known as phacoemulsification. Interviews with Kelman’s friends, foes, colleagues, wife, daughter, and the late Dr. Kelman himself are interspersed with performance footage of the showman surgeon in an exploration of one man’s tumultuous ride to success. Viewers will discover why millions of cataract, gall bladder, brain, and spinal cord surgery patients worldwide have Chubby Checker to thank for their quick recovery – and how a visit to the dentist paved the way for today’s medical business model.

Before Charlie Kelman, cataract surgery was a complicated and costly procedure that immobilized patients in the hospital for eight to ten days, followed by four to six weeks of recovery at home and extremely thick glasses that magnified and distorted but never truly repaired the vision originally lost to the degenerative damage in the eye’s lens. The Charlie Kelman Story provides an eye-opening look at how the most common surgery in the world was transformed by a most uncommon man. The program reveals Kelman as an upstart who charmed his way into residency at the prestigious Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia; made his nightclub act required attendance at the end of week-long training sessions for his groundbreaking cataract procedure; promoted his renegade work with a public relations campaign that landed him on The Tonight Show; and generally spit in the eye of establishment with his unconventional actions and flashy style.

The surgeon with shtick was a polarizing figure in ophthalmology, decried as a “charlatan” and a “nutcase” or hailed as a “genius,” and this new public television documentary explores Dr. Kelman’s struggle for recognition and respect over three decades of research and private practice. Kelman put the “me” in medicine in ways that were controversial and even scandalous for the time. As described in the program’s interviews with his ophthalmologic colleagues, Kelman’s groundbreaking business partnership with the makers of his phacoemulsification device was decades ahead of industry acceptance; his experimental methods brought the balance between patient safety and medical progress into question; and his refusal to share developmental data for fear of being beaten to the punch after too many false starts made him a pariah among his peers.

Despite whatever controversy paved his road to success, there is no doubt Dr. Kelman’s impact is as unique as his personality and practices. Charlie Kelman’s phacoemulsification surgery has proven to be the rare technology with longevity – it is still the most common method used worldwide for the procedure. The program cites unheard of statistics for a 30-year-old innovation: nearly 100% of the almost 3 million cataract surgeries performed each year in the United States are done with phacoemulsification, and nearly 10 million each year worldwide. The procedure saves millions in healthcare costs both in the way the procedure is done and by the outcome of preventing blindness, thus allowing people to continue to contribute to society. Kelman spawned an empire that thrives to this day. Additionally, as his colleague Dr. Jack Dodick, chairman, department of ophthalmology, New York University Langone Medical Center and attending in ophthalmology at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Institute, notes in the program, “When Charlie was first able to remove an unwanted tissue inside the human body through a small hole, he basically became the grandfather of all small incision surgery in the whole body.”

Dr. Kelman received some of the highest honors in science and technological innovation including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (formerly known as the National Medal of Technology), the highest honor for technological achievement bestowed by the President of the United States on America’s leading innovators; and the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s prestigious Laureate Award, awarded six months before he died of cancer. Posthumously, Kelman was honored with the Lasker Award, the nation’s highest award for medical science, among other accolades.

“Give into that secret dream inside you,” Kelman advises his stage act audience during a performance of “I’ve Gotta Be Me” at the program’s end. If the struggle between the forces of medicine and music defined Charlie Kelman’s life, then his legacy as depicted in Through My Eyes: The Charlie Kelman Story finally unites both sides of his duality as an inspiring ode to the power of persistence.

A production of Anker Productions, Inc. for WLIW21 in association with WNET.ORG. Executive Producer: Roy A Hammond. Producer/Director: Daniel Anker. Funding for Through My Eyes: The Charlie Kelman Story was made possible by The International Retinal Research Foundation; Alcon; The American Academy of Ophthalmology; Bausch and Lomb; Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island; Wills Eye Institute; Astoria Federal Savings; James B. Carty, Jr., M.D.; Aker Kasten Eye Center; Jerre Minor Freeman, M.D., of Memphis Eye & Cataract Associates; and BWD Group, LLC.

Dr. Eric Donnenfeld, a partner in Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island (OCLI) and friend of Dr. Kelman opened and closed the program with a message of support for the documentary.

“We are extremely proud to have worked with and learned from Dr. Charlie Kelman and to have helped bring this educational and inspirational story to the public” said Dr. Donnenfeld.

Dr. Eric Donnenfeld of OCLI  spoke at the 2009 OSN Technology and Equipment Workshop on reducing surgical astigmatism. The view an excerpt of his presentation visit osnsupersite.com or Click Here.