For 13 years, Dr. Melissa Kubai, assistant professor of veterinary ophthalmology in the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital, has been performing a one-handed technique for cataract surgery.
She’s not alone in that practice. It’s the technique that Kubai and most majority of veterinary ophthalmologists are trained and the technique Kubai has trained ophthalmology residents at Iowa State University.
That will change in the future.
Kubai recently attended an advanced cataract surgery training course at Ofthalmo University Europe campus in Barcelona, Spain. The course gave Kubai a deep dive into phacodynamics and nuances of advanced cataract surgery techniques.
The deep dive included performing the two-handed cataract surgery technique (bi-manual technique).
“I wanted to expand my skillset to perform the bi-manual approach to cataract surgery in our companion animal which will be a more efficient surgery for our clinical patients,” Kubai said. “I also would like to be able to train the next generation of veterinary ophthalmologists (current ophthalmology resident) in the two-handed cataract surgery approach.”
Kubai and other Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital veterinary ophthalmologists perform cataract surgery primarily on dogs but will occasionally perform cataract surgery in horses. The advanced training course provided her an opportunity to perform the two-handed surgery for the 10-day training period.
The course also provided Kubai with the ability to practice advanced intraocular surgical techniques. She went through multiple simulations from basic anti-tremor training to advanced simulations including anterior vitrectomy or lens instability surgical scenarios.
“During the training process, I was required to pass each simulation in order to move onto the next training challenge,” Kubai said. “Veterinary ophthalmologists do not generally have access to surgical simulators, so this was a novel training opportunity.”
Kubai was the first U.S. veterinary ophthalmologist to complete the program at the Europe campus in Barcelona. That experience has and will continue to pay dividends for Kubai and the patients at the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital.
“Once you complete the training, you are a part of the Ofthalmo University family,” Kubai said. “I can always reach out to the amazing instructors with questions, to celebrate a surgical victory or to discuss a complex case.
“Not only was this a positive and professionally enhancing experience, but I also feel very confident to use these surgical techniques on my patients going forward.”
February 2026
