Many retina specialists, particularly those who trained before the dawn of the anti-VEGF era, went into this field because they found satisfaction in surgery. There’s a certain grace in the OR, a special elegance to the eye, that scratched an itch in those of us who became eye surgeons.

The orb was a puzzle that we had the privilege of solving. The retina and vitreous were the elements that called to us most, but we found that we loved the eye in its entirety.

We dedicate this issue of Retina Today to all things surgery: the procedures, the equipment, the finances, the strategies, the tactics. Specific techniques are discussed in this issue—you may find especially useful the two articles on scleral buckling and scleral pocket IOL suturing—as are topics that pertain to surgical strategies, such as performing vitrectomy without intravenous anesthesia.

We knew we couldn’t prepare this issue without consulting the Vit-Buckle Society (VBS). In the past decade, the VBS has grown from a small consortium of savvy surgeons to a blossoming society of thought leaders and experts. VBS President R. Ross Lakhanpal, MD, tasked VBS up-and-comers Avni P. Finn, MD, MBA, and Basil K. Williams Jr, MD, with coordinating a series of articles for this issue’s cover focus. To them and their team, we are grateful.

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If you work in a private practice or have any responsibilities related to coding and reimbursement, then you will likely enjoy this issue’s coding column by AAO Coding and Practice Management Executive Joy Woodke, COE, OCS, OCSR. Ms. Woodke’s contributions to each issue of Retina Today—whether in the pages of the issue proper or in our special quarterly publication Retina Today Business Matters—have become among our most popular articles. Understanding the nuances of coding and reimbursement is not something that many of us learn in our formal training, and yet it is one of the most important elements of our practice. Inaccurate coding may lead to underpayment—or worse, audits. Relying on an expert like Ms. Woodke to help educate yourself could be key to keeping your practice’s finances in good shape.

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We have paused our coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic—for now. We expect as the weather cools and indoor activities resume at a higher rate, more variables will be added to the equation. Disease spikes will once again affect our clinics.

When that happens, we’ll be there to cover it. But for now, we operate.