Most cataract consultations start with options. Dr. Steven Dell — who has spent 30 years pioneering goal-first cataract planning — argues that’s the wrong starting point. The right place to start is a single question: what does this patient actually want?
In this episode of Eye Surgery Today, Dr. Dell explains how the Dell Questionnaire emerged from a real clinical problem, why establishing shared vocabulary between surgeon and patient changes everything, and what separates a refractive cataract surgeon from someone who simply removes cataracts.
He also addresses the central argument from his recent Steinert Lecture: that humans are changing where they want to see. As screens and AI dominate daily life and autonomous vehicles reshape transportation, the case for defaulting all patients to distance targeting is becoming harder to defend.
What you’ll learn:
• The goal-first approach to cataract surgery planning
• How the Dell Questionnaire works and why it’s used worldwide
• Why common vocabulary matters before any lens discussion
• What a refractive cataract surgeon does differently
• The real reason patients are unhappy with advanced lenses (it’s not the lens)
• How enhancement procedures bring patients to their visual target
• The truth about secondary cataracts and YAG laser treatment
• Why refractive lens exchange is an increasingly popular proactive option
• The value case for premium lenses using everyday investment logic
• The sign that you may be talking to the wrong surgeom
Related topics: Dell Questionnaire, refractive cataract surgery, posterior capsule opacification, YAG laser capsulotomy, refractive lens exchange, premium IOL, near vision, lens selection, fourth industrial revolution, LASIK enhancement, multifocal IOL
Learn more: https://eyesurgerytoday.com/
The educational content and views presented are solely those of the participating physicians, whom are not being compensated for their time. This program receives support from Bausch + Lomb, Johnson & Johnson, Alcon and RxSight.
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