5 Questions with Roberto Pinelli, MD

1) Since you first entered practice, what has been the greatest advance in the field of cataract and refractive surgery?
As far as cataract research is concerned, I think that through smaller microincisions, bimanuality and multifocality will be routinely obtained in every operation.

Research into new IOL technology is necessary to improve optics and give us the flexibility to manage the IOL through a small incision. In the future, patients will obtain in the same operations we perform now, far and near vision together with the possibility of enhancement. This will be considered a standard.

2) How do you incorporate such advances into your own practice?
This is a very interesting question. Personally, I incorporate these advances through communication with my patients, teamwork and spirit of research. I consider research an everyday mission because I feel that my life can get boring without it.

Research allows us to break away from the routine of surgery. Also, I believe in teaching and education. It is very important to give this generation of surgeons a new mentality: They need a positive approach and love for the creative side of our profession, which is art, not just science.

3) What does your current research focus on, and how will this come into use in the cataract and refractive surgery market?
Regarding refractive surgery, my current research is focused on multifocality in the cornea, through thin-flap LASIK or presbyopic multifocal LASIK (PML; my personal patented technique) that we are performing at my institute, the Istituto Laser Microchirurgia Oculare, in Brescia, Italy. We are studying presby-LASIK especially in emmetrope and have seen very promising results.

We are also evaluating corneal collagen cross-linking (C3)-riboflavin in patients with keratoconus. We have seen very promising results with presby-LASIK, and we are sure that it will soon become a routine. In particular, I have to say that Jorge Aliò, MD, PhD, inspired my research in this direction with his precious suggestions. Regarding research with C3-riboflavin, I think that the use of riboflavin and UVA radiation will give us a lot of positive surprises in the ophthalmic world. For more information on C3-riboflavin, see Dr. Pinelli's article on page 49.

I am also studying the possible management of multifocality in the anterior chamber. I am designing a new phakic IOL with my research and development team.

4) What was your most memorable surgical experience?
The LASIK procedure performed on my eyes 8 years ago, during my refractive surgery training. My friend Michael F. Gordon, MD, from San Diego, California, performed the surgery very successfully. I am a happy patient. Thanks to this operation, I feel closer to my patients because I can understand what they go through. It has helped me communicate with them, which is very important.

5) Would you please share something that most people do not
know about you?
Before performing ophthalmic surgery, I was a musician. I am a pianist, a conductor and composer of classical music. Being a musician was my profession for 10 years; I started very young. In the ophthalmology field, as most ophthalmic surgeons know, Charles Kelman, MD, was a beautiful saxophone player and a marvelous composer. I love to play his music.

I opened the institute in December 1998. From that December, I started my adventure in ophthalmology.

I think that one secret of my enthusiasm for ophthalmology research comes from my musical background. If the ideal of perfection — perfection for your art — is inside you, you never stop. Art is infinite, and research is never finished. This aspect is a characteristic of my personality. Every new surgical technique is like a new score, a new symphony, a new composition. It is different from the last, a little bit more than the prior and a little bit less than the next.