Jill Wells, M.D., Assistant Professor, Sections of Comprehensive Ophthalmology and Ocular Oncology at Emory University, graduated from the UAB Department of Ophthalmology Residency Training Program in in 2009. She served as the Chief Resident during her final year of residency training and received the Outstanding Resident Teacher Award.
She then went to Emory University for a two-year fellowship in ocular oncology and pathology and joined the program upon completion.
“Because ocular tumors are not common and do not fill up an entire clinical schedule, I also see comprehensive patients and perform cataract surgery,” says Wells. Earlier this year, she was approached by Dr. Steven Yeh, M.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Emory School of Medicine, with an interesting case.
Wells became the first surgeon to perform phacoemulsification cataract surgery on an Ebola patient. Yeh was caring for this patient when he developed a cataract in one eye. When the patient was originally scheduled for surgery, the doctors noticed his eye was again inflamed in the pre-op area, so he was tested to make sure the Ebola had not resurfaced in his eye. The results came back negative, but after delaying the surgery a few months the lens changed to a white cataract; a complex cataract that has an increased risk of a capsular tear. Yeh, Wells, and the infectious disease team spent hours planning the surgery and logistics to be sure all precautions were taken in case the virus was still alive in the eye.
The surgery was successful, and Wells continues her fruitful practice at Emory. She is also active with the fellowship program there, as the retina fellows rotate with her in tumor clinic and in the OR. Wells and her husband live in Atlanta with their three children (pictured above).
Wells is one of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology’s distinguished alumni who have gone on to have successful, noteworthy careers. Come join other alumni and current UAB Ophthalmology faculty, residents, and fellows at the 2018 Annual Clinical and Research Symposium, May 18-19 at Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa. Our Alumni Reception will be the evening of May 18th where you have the opportunity to reconnect with fellow alumni, faculty, and friends of the Department. Information will be sent in the coming months about how you can register for the symposium. We hope to see you there!