Modern cataract surgery is arguably the safest, most effective surgical procedure performed today. With the plethora of technologies available to surgeons—optimized phaco machines, femtosecond laser systems for cataract surgery, intraoperative aberrometers, toric IOL alignment systems, 3-D surgical microscopes, and advanced IOL designs, to name just a few—it is no surprise that the majority of patients end up with excellent visual outcomes.

Yet patients have become more demanding and surgeons more eager to get their patients not only to 20/20 but to 20/16 and beyond. In today's world, regardless of the condition of one's eye, it seems as if the ultimate goal is complete visual rehabilitation to the optimal level.

With this in mind, we have designed a cover focus that details three conditions commonly concomitant to cataract—retinal disease, glaucoma, and ocular surface disease—and provides surgeons with vital concepts in their management, so that all patients can experience the stellar postoperative outcomes that were once obtained only in near-perfect eyes.

Each section of this cover focus kicks off with an overview article, Five Pearls Every Cataract Surgeon Must Know About …, and then continues with two supporting articles in areas that are gaining widespread attention. A thorough understanding of the principles expressed in these articles can surely make the difference between standard outcomes and extreme patient satisfaction. n

— Laura Straub, Editor-in-Chief