Protecting Sight #128: Why you will fail to have a great career. Keeping track of cortex, congenital orbital fibrosis, chronic endophthalmitis, and the Swiss Family Robinson.

Welcome to my daily learning journal. My daily goal is to watch one Ted Talk and one cataract surgery. I also plan to read one journal article and read/listen to a book chapter, short story or significant work.

Here’s today’s list:

1. Ted Talk – Larry Smith – Why you will fail to have a great career. “In this funny and blunt talk, Larry Smith pulls no punches when he calls out the absurd excuses people invent when they fail to pursue their passions.” (ted.com)

I’m not quite sure why you decide not to do it. You’re too lazy to do it. It’s too hard. You’re afraid if you look for your passion and don’t find it, you’ll feel like you’re an idiot, so then you make excuses about why you’re not going to look for your passion. They are excuses, ladies and gentlemen. We’re going to go through a whole long list — your creativity in thinking of excuses not to do what you really need to do if you want to have a great career.

This is a good talk. Life is filled with moments of “if only I had” and the word “unless.” Finding a passion can bring much joy to a career and private life. For me, protecting sight and collecting historical documents are two passions.

2. Cataract Surgery – Uday Devgan MD – Keep track of cortex during surgery. Dr. Devgan writes, “Even with good dilation, cortex can be hidden at the capsular bag equator. In this case, the dilation is about 7 mm at the beginning of the surgery, but still there is a large piece of lens cortex hidden at the capsular bag equator. If this piece is left inside the eye, then it will swell overnight and become much larger and it will free itself from the capsular bag. On post-op day 1 there will be this large piece of lens material right in the visual axis and you will wonder how it got there. This video is the answer.” Great pearls!

3A. Journal – Bata BM, Garrity JA, Brodsky MC. Congenital Restrictive StrabismusJAMA Ophthalmol. 2018;136(4):442–443. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2017.4345

3B. Thompson AC, Finn AP, Jaffe GJ. Chronic Inflammation After YAG CapsulotomyJAMA Ophthalmol. 2018;136(4):444–445. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2017.4372

4. Book Chapter – The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss – Chapter 38-39. (Gutenberg | enotes).

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