Surgical Experience

Wet Lab 

Our residents have 24/7/365 access to our newly renovated surgical wet lab which is located right across the street from the Temple Ophthalmology clinic. Built in 2019, the wet lab boasts 10 table mounted microscopes each with either monitor projection or a side scope to facilitate education. There are 3 phacoemulsification machines as well as various models to practice surgical techniques. The formal wet lab curriculum covers a multitude of topics including basic suturing, cataract, glaucoma, corneal and strabismus surgery. The residents have monthly wet lab for 2 hours with Dr. Bains and additional subspecialty faculty in which they have access to pig eyes.

In addition to our monthly wet lab, we also have a cataract course for our residents as well as local ophthalmology residency programs. During these courses we have a phaco machine at each microscope and have multiple faculty supervising and educating our residents through cataract surgery. 

Eyesi Simulator

In addition to the wet lab, residents also have 24/7 access to the Eyesi Ophthalmic Surgical Simulator at the Wilmington VA  Center which allows residents plenty of training prior to cataract surgery. Residents are expected to move through the various modules during their training which is monitored by faculty.
 

Patient Surgeries

At Temple we take a stepwise approach to teaching surgical technique. While the PGY-4 year is most robust in primary surgeries we feel it is imperative to start with our PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents to set them up for success as they progress through their training.

• PGY-2: Residents will perform a variety of procedures in clinic starting with in the first month of their residency. This includes retinal and glaucoma lasers as well as ocular injections and in office oculoplastics procedures. In the operating room, the faculty take a structured “back in” approach to build residents' skills gradually.
• PGY-3: In addition to continued progression in adult cataract, retina, cornea, and glaucoma surgery, residents also have a special focus on pediatric strabismus surgery as you rotate at Nemours Children’s Hospital and have increased oculoplastics exposure.
• PGY-4: This is the most surgical heavy year in which you will have a robust surgical experience at all our sites.