A new learning lab at Carle Illinois College of Medicine is providing medical students with training in cutting-edge surgical treatment for glaucoma, the world’s second leading cause of blindness. The new microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MiGS) lab is a first-of-its-kind wet lab learning opportunity for CI MED students, with hands-on training in less-invasive surgical options for preserving glaucoma patients’ sight.
Glaucoma is a group of incurable diseases that attack the optic nerve. Current treatments include eye drops, medications, laser treatments, and surgery. The MiGS surgical technique is one of the most recent developments in the field. “Traditional glaucoma surgeries can have significant risks, such as infection, hypotony (excessively low intraocular pressure), and vision loss,” said CI MED student Bhargavee Gnana, who organized the new lab. “MiGS involves much smaller incisions compared to traditional glaucoma surgeries. This reduces trauma to the eye, minimizes scarring, and promotes quicker healing,” she said.
Gnana worked with CI MED’s Ophthalmology student interest group and experts Drs. Erica Person, Abou Cham, and David Sola-Del Valle – ophthalmologists and CI MED clinical faculty members – to create a unique learning experience that includes both hands-on work with MiGs devices and teaching.
“I wanted to recreate an experience here at CI MED so that more students could experience what it’s like to do eye surgery. Typically, MIGS training is reserved for specialized conferences and is not commonly available in medical school or even in many residency programs,” Gnana said. “This makes CI MED’s MiGS lab the first of its kind in the U.S. specifically for medical students, providing early exposure to a cutting-edge surgical field that most students wouldn’t encounter until much later in their training.”
At CI MED’s first hands-on MiGS training, students rotated through five stations where they could work with six different MiGs devices set up by surgical device companies, offering the opportunity to explore how each device is used to treat glaucoma. “MiGS offers a range of options to target different areas of the eye's drainage system,” Gnana explained. Glaucoma surgery can also often be performed in conjunction with cataract surgery, Dr. Person’s and Dr Cham’s specialty, so students learned about surgical techniques for treating both conditions in tandem.
A growing number of CI MED students hope to pursue ophthalmology as a specialty in medical residency, making this unique experience more valuable. “Opportunities like this are critical for students pursuing ophthalmology, one of the most competitive medical specialties. Early exposure to advanced technologies like MiGS helps students stand out in the residency application process and solidifies their interest in the field,” Gnana said.