What first interested you in a career in ophthalmology?

Very early in medical school, I took electives in various areas and was very serious about orthopedic surgery at one point. Before I finalized my decision, I tried other surgical specialties and got hooked on ophthalmology. The outcomes were good, and the patients were generally very satisfied after surgery. I loved the microsurgical aspects and the constant innovation and technological advances in the field that seemed to be at a level above the other specialties.

Tell us about being an investigator in a trial for a minimally invasive retinal reattachment procedure.

When I started residency, vitrectomy and scleral buckle were far more common than pneumatic retinopexy at our institution. I was introduced to pneumatic retinopexy as a first-year resident. There had been tremendous advances in vitreoretinal surgery around the time I started practicing, with the adoption of 23-gauge and 25-gauge surgery. Vitrectomy was as efficient as ever with many surgeons using it almost exclusively for retinal detachment repair.

Despite retinal detachment repair defining our surgical specialty, we realized that there was limited high-quality data from randomized trials comparing techniques. We decided to carry out a randomized trial comparing pneumatic retinopexy (which was generally performed very rarely in most centers) to pars plana vitrectomy, the most common procedure for retinal detachment repair worldwide.

I was the senior principal investigator for the PIVOT trial, and my fellow at the time, Roxane J. Hillier, MBChB, FRCOphth, MS, was the other principal investigator.

The goal was to determine which treatment was best for patients in terms of their long-term functional outcomes. We faced many challenges in the PIVOT trial related to patient recruitment and follow-up, not to mention that the study was performed with no funding. Nonetheless, we were committed to the question being asked and seeing it through to completion.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your workload and/or patient base?

COVID-19 has substantially changed my practice. I seem to be getting home earlier with fewer patient visits per day. Some nonessential visits have been postponed or cancelled. This change has allowed me to spend more time with my family and has given me more time to focus on research (Figure). I am very curious to see what my practice will be like in the post-pandemic period.

<p>Figure. Dr. Muni with his wife Radha P. Kohly, MD, PHD, FRCSC, also a retina specialist, and their four children on a recent vacation in Hawaii.</p>

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Figure. Dr. Muni with his wife Radha P. Kohly, MD, PHD, FRCSC, also a retina specialist, and their four children on a recent vacation in Hawaii.

What can you tell us about your mentors?

Peter Kertes, MD, CM, FRCSC, at the University of Toronto, has been a wonderful mentor. He had tremendous confidence in me early on and taught me how to perform pneumatic retinopexy as a junior resident. This was an incredible experience and planted the seeds for my future clinical and academic practice. He has also been a close friend and confidant over the years.

In addition, I admire David Sarraf, MD; SriniVas R. Sadda, MD; and Sunir J. Garg, MD, who are research collaborators of mine and have all made major contributions to retina. I have many other colleagues/mentors worldwide who I greatly respect for their spirit of collegiality and collaboration including Lihteh Wu, MD, and Barbara Parolini, MD.

What is your favorite hobby outside of work?

I love to run outdoors—this is something that gradually evolved over time. Surgical retina can be a high-stress environment, and often we are so busy that we don’t have time to think or take care of ourselves. Running gives me time to both clear my head and think. I have come up with ideas or solved problems on several occasions while running.