This year, I was thrilled to attend the 3rd annual Duke Cornea Fellows Course and Wet Lab, an exceptional program led by Duke faculty and cornea fellowship director, Kourtney Houser, MD. The event, held on February 7, 2025, provided an invaluable educational experience for cornea fellows and PGY-4 residents who are planning to pursue cornea fellowships. Hosted at Duke’s Trent Semans Center, the program offered students a unique opportunity to refine their surgical techniques, engage in meaningful discussions with experts, and network with peers from across the country.
The Cornea Fellows Course: Didactics and Wet Lab
The program began with breakfast, followed by the didactic portion. This segment featured concise, high-yield 15-minute lectures delivered by cornea faculty from various institutions. Topics focused on complex anterior segment surgery and corneal transplantation techniques, including manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS), endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK and DMEK), iris repair, and secondary IOL fixation techniques. As a cornea fellow, I found the lectures exceptionally relevant, and I gained valuable insights.
Following lunch, we transitioned to the wet lab at the Duke Eye Center’s Hudson Eye Building. The lab featured ten 20-minute stations that covered a range of surgical techniques, including the Yamane technique, various scleral-fixated IOL techniques, DSAEK, DMEK, DALK, BrightMEM (Brightstar Therapeutics), iris suturing and repair, microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), MSICS, MICOR + miLOOP (Zeiss) & TearCare (Sight Sciences), and an EVO ICL loading demonstration by STAAR Surgical (Figure 1). A special thank you to all the industry sponsors who made this program possible!
Figure 1. Jerry Hsu, MD, (center) and course attendees participating in one of the learning stations during the wet lab session.
Several aspects of the wet lab stood out. I specifically appreciated the opportunity to practice different scleral-fixation techniques for IOLs, some of which I had not previously attempted. Additionally, using novel technologies such as the BrightMEM and Zeiss MICOR lens extractor was an exciting learning experience. Beyond hands-on training, the wet lab fostered valuable interactions with faculty from various institutions, providing both surgical insights and broader perspectives on cornea practice. The day concluded with a dinner at TopGolf, an enjoyable setting to unwind and connect with fellow attendees.
Additional Opportunities: YMDC Dinner & Saturday Conference
Another highlight was the Cornea Fellow Case Series Dinner, held the evening before the wet lab. Hosted by Dompé and YoungMD Connect (YMDC), this small group gathering allowed me and three other cornea fellows to present and discuss challenging clinical cases (Figure 2). The interactive format encouraged lively discussion, with faculty offering insights at key decision points. Topics included management of corneal neovascularization and lipid keratopathy, fungal keratitis in a DMEK graft, algae keratitis, and an unusual case of keratitis following a bee sting to the cornea.
Figure 2. Group photo from the Cornea Fellow Case Series Dinner. From left to right: Jim Yanek (Dompé); Kourtney Houser, MD; Ellis Wisely, MD; Jacob Fondreist, MD; Samantha M. Arsenault, MD; David Biddell (Dompé); Talia Shoshany, MD; Brenton Finklea, MD; and Megan Kasetty, MD.
To conclude the weekend, we were offered complimentary registration to the annual Controversies in Cornea and Cataract Surgery Conference on February 8, 2025. The conference was engaging with excellent talks. A stand-out moment was the lecture by keynote speaker Kendall Donaldson, MD, a faculty member and one of my fellowship mentors at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Her talk on the future of cataract surgery, including advancements in AI and upcoming surgical technologies, was inspiring and forward-thinking.
Reflecting on the entire experience, I can confidently say this was the most impactful wet lab course I have attended. Tailored specifically to current and soon-to-be cornea fellows, the content and hands-on training were particularly relevant. The structured approach allowed us to gain invaluable surgical knowledge, enhance our technical skills, and maximize the learning experience. I deeply appreciate the faculty and organizers who made this event possible and sincerely hope it continues in the future. For ophthalmologists in training with an interest in the cornea, I highly recommend participating in this program if given the opportunity.
