Guest of Honor: Edward G. Buckley, MD

Who is Dr. Buckley? Ed Buckley is professor and chair of the Duke University department of ophthalmology. He also serves as vice chancellor for Duke-National University Singapore affairs and is vice dean of education at the Duke School of Medicine.

How did you meet him? My first rotation as a second-year ophthalmology resident was pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. Ed was the attending physician. It was my first chance to perform surgery in the OR, an unforgettable rite of passage on the way to becoming an ophthalmologist. A few years ago, I ran across the note cards I made after that first surgery. The detail on those cards is a testament to the teaching of precision ophthalmic surgery by Dr. Buckley.

Dr. Buckley has an enthusiasm for pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus and neuro-ophthalmology that inspired Dr. Wiggins to pursue a career in those fields. Here, the pair is seen at the 2016 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus meeting.

What do you admire most about him? His enthusiasm for the fields of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus and neuro-ophthalmology was evident during my training and one of the main reasons for my decision to pursue a career in both. Ed’s best educational sessions were the live neuro-ophthalmology patient visits, which were teaching sessions in front of all the residents. Particularly memorable, more than 30 years later, was a patient with NLP vision who miraculously was demonstrated to have quite good vision by the end of the session. You never knew who was going to be called up to ask the patient a few questions or perform an exam, but you did know what question was coming next: “And what do you think might be the source of this patient’s problems, Doctor?” No slides or textbooks could replicate these events. In addition to being an excellent teacher, he’s also a great lifelong student as evidenced by an extensive publication history and a career path that has taken him in many different directions. Such role models are important, as both pediatric specialists and neuro-ophthalmologists are in short supply these days!

What’s the best advice he’s given you? As an academic referral center, Duke was a magnet for complicated cases and unsolved mysteries. He taught me to be skeptical of everything, including prior diagnoses, findings, and tests. He would say, “Doctor, did you look at the head scan?” By starting at the beginning with the medical history and examination, Dr. Buckley helped me become a detective capable of solving tough cases.

Fun facts. Ed is a pretty good bowler. He would frequently invite the residents out to the bowling alley, which added to the camaraderie in our training program. Ed attended Duke as an undergraduate, as a medical student, and as a resident. He returned to Duke on the faculty and later became chairman of the ophthalmology department. He is an avid Duke basketball fan and bleeds dark blue!

This content is excerpted from the Friday/Saturday edition of AAO 2022 News, the newspaper distributed at the convention center.

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