Robert Maloney, MD, announces retirement from clinical practice

Robert Maloney, MD, cofounder of the Maloney-Shamie-Hura Vision Institute, announced he has retired from his surgical practice. Dr. Maloney recently completed a six-month sabbatical at Oxford University, during which he researched Harold Ridley, Stewart Duke-Elder, and the development of the intraocular lens. At the Controversies in Modern Eye Care (CIME) meeting in Los Angeles, California, after announcing his departure from clinical practice, Dr. Maloney stated he will be focusing on research moving forward.

“I'm not retiring from work,” Dr. Maloney told Ophthalmology Times. “My six months on sabbatical was, from the point of view of ideas, the richest time of the last decade or so for me. I'm a lifelong learner. I decided that I want to pursue history on a more full-time basis.

“We're so privileged to be in eye care. It's easy to be too attached to the profession,” he continued. “I realized that I needed to let go of what I'm doing now to move on to the next step. Ophthalmology, magnificent though it is, was holding me back.”

MOMENTS IN HISTORY

Dr. Maloney’s resume includes many accolades and achievements. He was a principal investigator for the first FDA trial of LASIK in 1991. He is a former Rhodes scholar and has 68 peer-reviewed research papers to his name, as well as a variety of eye-related patents. He has also made numerous television appearances as a LASIK surgeon.

His total contributions to the industry are staggering: he has published more than 300 articles, abstracts, and reports in professional journals, and has delivered more than 200 invited lectures on five continents.

But after making history in so many ways, Dr. Maloney is returning to the study of history. Dr. Maloney used his CIME keynote to emphasize the importance of studying history as the foundation for future innovations within science. “While history doesn't repeat itself in cycles, it does spiral back,” Dr. Maloney said. “Knowing the past can inform how we look at things today.’”

“Robert really planned his succession and his retirement with such grace and such thought,” said Dr. Neda Shamie, his partner at Maloney-Shamie-Hura Vision Institute. “It’s much the same as he's done everything else in his career. He planned it out so that his patients are well taken care of. The practice is well taken care of. His legacy is taken care of.”

“I was with Robert in the OR when he did his very last cataract surgery ever,” said Dr. Arjan Hura, his other partner. “He was not someone who needed to stop operating. His surgical skills are still top notch.”

Dr. Maloney reiterated that sentiment, and said that for many doctors, it can be a challenge to leave behind a career that’s so “emotionally reinforcing.” He entered the field after an early-childhood experience, witnessing his grandmother nearly lose her vision, first to cataracts and then to a cataract surgery with severe complications. The eventual restoration of her vision inspired him to follow this career path.

“We get to help people every day, in contrast to most branches of medicine, which generally manage slow decline. People tell us every day that they love us,” Dr. Maloney said. “Too many ophthalmologists work too long. They stay in the operating room until somebody taps them on the shoulder and takes away their knives.”

“I absolutely did not want to be that person,” Dr. Maloney added.

INTO THE UNKNOWN

Dr. Maloney said he’ll miss the collegiality of ophthalmology more than anything else. “I've loved exploring our field with like-minded fellow travelers,” he said. One such fellow traveler attended CIME: Nolan Ng, OD, chief of cornea and contact lens services at Western University Health Sciences in Pomona, California.

Dr. Ng and Dr. Maloney met while working at the Stein Eye Institute Laser Refractive Center. "We saw a lot of challenging cases. We had a clinic specifically designed for problem cases," Dr. Ng remembered. "I learned a lot from him in terms of how to handle patients: patient rapport, creating good bedside manner. That's something that he was a master at." Dr. Ng said that along with the clinical empathy he learned from watching Dr. Maloney, he also saw a version of leadership which felt inspiring, accessible and impactful.

Dr. Shamie said she and Dr. Hura will strive to keep a patient-centric, service-focused attitude as a core value of their practice. “Everything we do in our day is focused on that patient experience, and making it transformative,” she said. “I love that this is the premise behind our practice, behind everything we do.”

Dr. Maloney knows his patients are in good hands with Dr. Shamie and Dr. Hura. “My wife, Nicole, and I have three magnificent children. They are each one better than either of us individually. With each of them, we look at them and say, ‘Wow, where did they get that from?’” Dr. Maloney said. “I feel that way about my partners. They're fabulous, and they are each in their own way better than I ever was.

“The last thing I want them to do is take after me,” he added. “I just want them to continue on their journeys.”

As for Dr. Maloney’s journey, the next chapter is not yet clear. But that’s the way he likes it: as he’s learned from his clinical experience, there’s nothing more miraculous than a hazy vision that erupts in a moment of sudden clarity

“I helped make LASIK safe. I helped bring the light adjustable lens to market. I've certainly published a lot on various things,” Dr. Maloney said. “Who knows? Maybe this next 10 years will give me a new legacy. I don't know. I'm stepping into the great blue ocean.”