Growing up with an older sister with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease, Meredith Spitz, MD, MBA, learned at a young age how important health care is. It wasn’t until she started medical school, however, that she discovered the power of ophthalmology to fundamentally improve lives.
“The field was unlike anything I had experienced, where you can perform a procedure to help patients see better, and often, their livelihoods change. It was such a tangible impact you could make in people’s lives that I gravitated toward it,” she says. “I fell in love with the field, and I am so excited to be here now.”
Spitz is a fellow at the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Ophthalmology who is specializing in glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness that is on the rise globally. This June, she will graduate from the program and move to the next step of her career: becoming a glaucoma attending at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute in her home state of Ohio.
“This is my last graduation. I feel a mix of emotions because I’m excited to celebrate but I feel sad in a way to leave the great friends and patients I’ve met. It’s like a big family here,” she says. “I feel incredibly thankful and privileged to have had these experiences, because it’s made me confident going into the next phase of my career.”
There is a critical need for talented glaucoma specialists like Spitz, explains Leo Seibold, MD, director of the glaucoma fellowship program.
“Glaucoma is an age-related disease, and we have an ever-aging population. Therefore, the burden of glaucoma care is only becoming larger,” Seibold says. “We pride ourselves on the volume and breadth of clinical and surgical experience in the glaucoma fellowship and have strived to maintain robust and diverse training so that young physicians like Dr. Spitz can confidently deliver outstanding care to her patients.”
Meredith Spitz, right, has spent the past year training as a glaucoma fellow at CU Anschutz. Photos courtesy of Spitz.
After graduating high school, Spitz completed a six-year combined BS/MD program. She attended the University of Akron to complete her undergraduate degree and subsequently attended Northeast Ohio Medical University, where she earned both a medical degree and master’s degree.
During medical school, Spitz joined a nonprofit organization that conducted health initiatives in local schools, including eye exams. The more she learned about ophthalmology, the more interested she became in the field, as it offered the opportunity to blend clinical and surgical care. It led her to join the ophthalmology residency program at the Geisinger College of Health Sciences in Pennsylvania, where she discovered a passion for treating patients with glaucoma alongside one of her early mentors, Ana Rubin Panvini, MD, a glaucoma specialist at Geisinger.
Glaucoma is a progressive condition that causes damage to the optic nerve — the cord connecting the brain and the eyes — often due to increased eye pressure. Though it can impact people of any age, it most commonly affects older adults. Often referred to as a “silent thief of sight,” many people do not notice symptoms of glaucoma until it has become advanced and caused permanent damage.
There are medical interventions that can help prevent the condition from worsening and protect patients’ vision. Daily eye drops, for example, can regulate eye pressure. However, eye drops can be difficult for patients to regularly use, prompting CU Anschutz ophthalmologists to innovate alternatives.
For more advanced cases, laser procedures and surgery may be needed, such as minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (involves making smaller cuts and using specialized tools), XEN Gel Stent surgery (implants a tiny tube-like structure in the eye to help with draining), tube shunt surgery (places a drainage device in the eye to lower pressure), and trabeculectomies (creates a new pathway for fluid in the eye to drain). Some of these procedures can be combined with cataract surgery as well, helping deliver meaningful results to patients.
“We can’t cure glaucoma, so it’s something that we treat longitudinally. I really like developing those long-term relationships with patients, and I love performing a wide variety of anterior segment surgeries,” Spitz says. “This can be a life-altering and permanently blinding disease if it goes untreated. Being in a position to help these patients preserve their vision feels very special.”
The day Spitz interviewed for the glaucoma fellowship at CU Anschutz, she knew the program was a top choice for her.
“This is a large glaucoma team that has so many amazing qualities, and you could really feel that during the interview day. I knew the surgical and clinical training was incredible and matched what I was looking for,” she says. “I felt very lucky and thankful to have matched here.”
Each year, the program trains two glaucoma fellows who learn from seven different faculty members who specialize in glaucoma. Each mentor has offered invaluable lessons to Spitz, she explains.
“There is such a wealth of knowledge that you get to tap into as a fellow, and you work closely with each mentor. You learn so many tips and tricks that help you develop your own skillset,” she says. “When I compare my skills now to a year ago, the growth is insurmountable. This is such a high-volume institution that you get exposed to everything — advanced pathology cases, high-volume trauma cases, and many complex surgeries.”
Throughout the yearlong fellowship, Spitz trained at multiple medical sites, including the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center, Denver Health, Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
“We’re exposed to patients from different socio-economic backgrounds with various levels and severity of glaucoma, so you learn how to tailor your treatment approach to each individual patient and their needs,” she says. “The training really equips you for the next phase of your career.”
Her growth has also been observed by her mentors, including Seibold.
“Dr. Spitz is a special person and doctor. She has a rare combination of clinical expertise, surgical skill, and the ability to communicate well with patients and educate them along their journey,” Seibold says. “I have really seen Dr. Spitz develop in her overall confidence as a glaucoma specialist this year. She has really synthesized everything that she has learned from her mentors and teachers and used that knowledge to now boldly make difficult diagnoses and treatment decisions.”
Meredith Spitz, left, says Colorado has been a beautiful and wonderful place to live for the past year.
As a fellow, Spitz was not only learning. She was also helping teach ophthalmology residents, helping empower trainees as they advance in their careers as well.
“I love teaching because I wouldn’t be here without the mentors I’ve had. Their skills live on through me, and I am always grateful for this wealth of knowledge I can tap into to treat complex diseases and best serve my patients. If I can have that same impact on a trainee, that’s one of the most meaningful accomplishments,” she says. “By teaching others, I can help them develop skills that they can then use to help future patients and trainees.”
As a fellow, Spitz even helped teach some trainees how to perform their first surgeries. She taught Joana Karanxha, MD, a fourth-year ophthalmology resident, how to create a scleral tunnel incision in cataract surgery — a skill she believes will be useful to Karanxha, who will be completing a cornea, refractive, and external disease fellowship at the University of Miami following graduation. Spitz also taught fourth-year ophthalmology resident Tiffany Wu, MD, how to perform her first manual small incision cataract surgery, which is intended for patients with dense cataracts.
“It’s exciting to translate those skills to residents,” she says. “I want to be active in mentoring and teaching the next generation, and Colorado has provided me a platform to do that, which I’m very thankful for."
Though it will be bittersweet to leave Colorado after graduation, Spitz is looking forward to returning to her hometown of Cleveland with her new skillsets. This October, she will join the Cole Eye Institute to provide care to patients dealing with glaucoma and cataracts while simultaneously teaching residents and fellows.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve people in the community that raised me. It’s very special,” she says. “Delivering exceptional care to my patients is always my utmost priority.”
As a glaucoma specialist, one of her goals is to spread awareness of the condition and help expand screening and early intervention efforts to help reduce the number of patients with advanced, vision-threatening stages of glaucoma.
“It can be silent in its progression, so it’s important that we raise community awareness about it so we, as ophthalmologists and glaucoma specialists, can help treat, manage, and preserve vision as much as we can,” she says. “I’m motivated to reach as many patients as possible, because we shouldn’t be seeing patients in their 30s, 40s, and 50s going blind from a disease they didn’t realize they had or because they didn’t have access to evaluations or treatments.”
Because of her training and the skills she’s acquired during her fellowship, Spitz is ready for the new journey.
“I’m proud of how much I’ve grown this year and how confident I feel going into the next step of my career. It’s largely because of the great mentorship, the large volume of cases, and the widespread pathology that we get here at CU Anschutz,” Spitz says. “This fellowship has provided me with such a wonderful foundation to now go out on my own.”