Clearly KC Podcast

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD welcomes colleague Dr. Jason Marsack PhD from the University of Houston, where his lab is engaged in correcting higher order aberrations.   Dr. Marsack shared his story of a keratoconus diagnosis while a college student and his vow to apply his engineering skills to improving the vision of others.  He and Dr. Barnett discuss isolation, empathy and the “KC Personality” which he observes may be ...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD chats with Carl Domke of McKinney, Texas.  Carl is the winner of the 2023 World KC Day Photo Contest with a photo collage that celebrates improved vision with contact lenses.  The 80-year old photographer shared what it was like to be diagnosed with KC in 1959 and how, as a high school sophomore, he was given contact lenses that ‘changed his life’ and made it possible to continue his education...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD meets up with Myeisha Essex of Los Angeles to discuss tips, tricks and hacks to simplify life with keratoconus.   Myeisha shares her KC journey from diagnosis during graduate school to her career as an entertainment journalist.  Her eye doctor convinced Myeisha to refocus on her vision health, and she left long days under bright studio lights to start Essex Media Group and to work as a meditat...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD visits with Poppy McCabe, a recent graduate of Falmouth University in England.  Poppy was runner-up in the 2023 World KC Day Photo Contest.  Her submission shows her at her final art exhibit at school.  Investigating symptoms associated with her Ehlers Danlos syndrome, Poppy learned keratoconus was the source of her vision struggles.  She used her diagnosis as inspiration for an installation t...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD asks Dr. Ann Ostrovsky MD about managing the care of individuals with Down syndrome who are diagnosed with keratoconus.  Dr. Ostrovsky who is chief of ophthalmology at ECU Health in Greenville, North Carolina stresses the importance of avoiding eye rubbing and scheduling regular eye exams to monitor for vision changes.  She notes that it can sometimes be difficult to get reliable test results ...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD welcomes Dylan Muyambo of Cape Town, South Africa.  For the 2023 World KC Day Photo Contest, Dylan submitted a joyful picture with his students on a field trip.  Dylan shares with Dr. Barnett how he struggled with his vision from a young age, was diagnosed with severe keratoconus at age 9, and underwent corneal transplants in both eyes by the time he was 20.  Dylan admits because of his poor v...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD invites Dr. Araba Otoo OD to talk about pubtometry – a word Dr. Otoo uses to describe the intersection of optometry and public health.  Ghana-born Otoo is a recent graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry; she started Cherish Eyesight & Vision, a nonprofit whose mission is to increase vision health literacy and educate the public about eye conditions.  Partnering with NKC...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD sits down with keratoconus guru Dr. Christine Sindt OD, from University of Iowa for a discussion of higher order aberrations (HOA), a common concern of individuals with keratoconus.  Dr. Sindt notes doctors have sympathized with their patients who complain of halos or double vision but until recently could do little to fix the problem.  While the technology is still in its infancy, Dr. Sindt r...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD is joined by ophthalmologist Dr. Steven Greenstein MD and optometrist Dr. John Gelles OD, partners at the Cornea and Laser Eye Institute in New Jersey.  Dr. Gelles shares results of wave front guided scleral lenses, an emerging technology that creates a 3-D model of the cornea to craft individualized contacts.  Dr. Greenstein spoke of CTAK (corneal tissue addition keratoplasty) a new surgical ...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD catches up with KC expert Dr. Andy Morgenstern OD who shares that his career in keratoconus was inspired when he first had access to pentacam tomography, a technology that visualizes the back (posterior) of the cornea.  He also spoke of a soon-to-be published paper that used tomography to screen Chicagoland students to reveal the prevalence of pediatric KC in the US is much higher than previou...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD celebrates World KC Day with returning patient and health advocate Rachel Dungan.  They discuss keratoconus as an invisible disability that others may not perceive or appreciate.  Rachel declares that KC makes her move through the world and pick up cues from others differently.  The two also assess the importance of not letting KC hold you back, even if it means taking extra steps to achieve y...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD chats with Sacramento-based cornea surgeon Dr. Sam Lee MD.  Dr. Lee has performed corneal crosslinking since the procedure earned FDA approval in 2016.  He described the procedure in detail and noted the results are quite good, with only 1-5% of patients needing retreatment and emphasized the importance of crosslinking as soon as there is any evidence of progression.  Dr. Lee and Dr. Barnett e...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD visits with Dr. Suzanne Sherman OD, Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Tampa’s University of South Florida.  Dr. Sherman and Dr. Barnett discuss the impact of estrogen and progesterone on vision.  Increased hormone level resulting from pregnancy can lead to many changes in the body, including decreased stiffness in the cornea, increasing the bending and shifting that is ...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD visits with Rachel Dungan, a Director with Academy Health, a Washington DC policy institute.  In 2016, Rachel’s short video, “How Do I Look?” was awarded first prize at the NKCF Film Festival.  Since then, she has addressed lawmakers, clinicians, and health researchers about her keratoconus journey.  Rachel shared her experience of living with undiagnosed KC and how it affected her confidence,...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD and Dr. Daddi Fadel, DOptom celebrate Dry Eye Awareness month by answering listener questions.  Dr. Fadel is a clinician scientist at the University of Waterloo in Canada and co-author of “Clinical Guide for Scleral Lens Success” with Dr. Barnett.  Dr. Fadel observes that a majority of individuals with keratoconus also suffer from dry eye disease.  She describes the different types of dry eye ...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD visits with Louis Karaolis LLB, PhD, professor, Head of Law, and Director of Academic Affairs at Cyprus Business School.   An expert on EU law, he has been visiting lecturer at UK law schools, and law school admissions examiner at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.  Now splitting his time between London and Cyprus, Karaolis shares his experience of being diagnosed as a teenager and undergoing a c...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD was joined by Joey Gase, NASCAR Xfinity owner-driver and ambassador for National Keratoconus Foundation.  Joey shared his story of wearing eyeglasses and contacts from an early age and becoming frustrated with frequent vision changes in his 20s.  His eye doctor, unable to improve his vision beyond 20/40, diagnosed keratoconus, the cut-off for participating in NASCAR events.  Gase talked about ...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD and Dr. Jennifer Li MD, professor of ophthalmology from Univ. of California-Davis, and chair of the Eye Bank Association of America, discuss how corneal transplantation is undergoing changes with advances in surgical techniques.  Dr. Li relayed how cornea tissue is prepared and sent to surgeons within days of a donor’s death for implantation.  She reported that those who have undergone transpl...

Clearly KC host Dr. Melissa Barnett OD and Dr. Muriel Schornack OD from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester debate if there is such a thing as a keratoconus personality.  Individuals with KC tend to score differently on personality tests, but Dr. Schornack points out that the disease impact often comes in youth or young adulthood where coping mechanisms are not fully developed.  KC can have a profound impact on an individual's ability to ...