In September 2020, our very own superstar Dr. Bennett Walton was featured in an amazing article in Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today entitled “A Good Ear, A Good Eye, A Strong Family”. This article gave an incredible look into how Dr. Walton became as unique of a person, and surgeon as he is today.
Besides the obvious passion that we see daily in Dr. Walton’s eyes as he cares for his patient’s eyes, everyone in our office has become aware that Dr. Walton is also extremely passionate about music. He has played his guitar in our office various times and anyone who knows him, knows he embodies what ‘multitalented’ really means.
It’s not every day that a LASIK and corneal surgeon who restores sight in the Operating Room can hold a note, much less play an instrument, much less MULTIPLE instruments!
In CRST’s article, Dr. Walton explained the importance of quality instruments, and how his appreciation led to an admiration of custom-made instruments. He compared this appreciation to what he does for our patients every day by sharing:
“In a sense, I view my work as an anterior segment surgeon in a similar light. We have the opportunity to personalize the vision and surgical plan for every patient—crafting optimal treatment for each individual patient.”
Another close comparison between music and eye surgery is found in rule breaking. Dr. Walton explained that one piano manufacturer had elected to go with a new material other than wood in making their world-famous pianos, to help their pianos’ durability. When this company was faced with criticism, Dr. Walton compared this to what our founder, Dr. Slade went through –
“We break the rules in ophthalmology, too. For example, Stephen G. Slade, MD, FACS, faced criticism nearly 30 years ago when first promoting LASIK. In making a LASIK flap, he broke the hallmark rule of radial keratotomy—never cross the visual axis. As we all know, LASIK is one of the most successful procedures in all of medicine.”
Dr. Walton went on to explain that like LASIK’s inception 30 years ago, ophthalmology is experiencing huge changes in IOL’s right now with trifocals, lenses that adjust to light, and others.
Dr. Walton has been involved in a lot of firsts at Slade & Baker Vision, including one of the first implantations of a new extended depth of focus lens, the Vivity lens, as covered in our recent blog article.
We are so proud that the rest of the world got a little glimpse into Dr. Walton thanks to this article, but mostly we are proud to call Dr. Walton ours and to have the added benefit of some live music within our walls every now and then!
Walton, O 2020, ‘A Good Eye, A Good Eye, A Strong Family’, Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today, Sept 2020, accessed 26 October 2020, <https://crstoday.com/articles/sept-2020/a-good-ear-a-good-eye-a-strong-family/>
