Evolution of pediatric ophthalmology beneficial for patients, practitioners

The cover story in this issue of Ocular Surgery News is a round table chaired by our section leader in pediatric ophthalmology, Robert S. Gold, MD. The round table took place at the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus meeting in New Orleans in March. All of the round table participants are members of AAPOS.When I finished my training in 1978, I first joined a group in Dallas whose senior partner, William S. Harris, MD, was primarily an anterior segment surgeon. I was told by my senior partner that it was the “duty” of the youngest associate to take care of strabismus and oculoplastics. I also cared for a lot of adults with cataract, corneal and glaucoma problems, but my experience was similar to that of many young surgeons starting out in private practice at that time: The strabismus and oculoplastic cases were all referred to me. Fortunately, my training in both disciplines was strong, and I was fairly comfortable with most cases I encountered.