Dr. Salar Rafieetary, a vitreoretinal surgeon at the Charles Retina Institute and a member of the Rhodes College Class of 2012, recently performed a first-of-its-kind surgery in Tennessee to treat macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel), a rare disease leading to vision loss.
In December, he utilized the ENCELTO implant, the only FDA-approved treatment for MacTel, at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women in Memphis. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to perform this new procedure because previously there were no other treatment options available for this disease,” Rafieetary stated in a news release. “ENCELTO offers hope to patients in slowing the progression of MacTel.”
Later, the patient said about her recovery in a Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women newsletter, “It seems that my scans show improvement.”
A 2008 graduate of Briarcrest Christian School, Rafieetary attended Rhodes College as a participant of the Bonner Scholarship program, linking academic studies and leadership skills with community service. He served at Regional One Health’s Elvis Presley Trauma Center, working in the trauma unit, transporting patients around the hospital, running specimens to the labs, and assisting with patient care. The Bonner Program also provided Rafieetary the opportunity to teach English and work in an orphanage in Thailand.
On campus, Rafieetary conducted neuroscience research and served as president of the Rhodes Student Government. Additionally, he worked as a Rhodes Diplomat, providing campus tours to prospective students and their families. He was inducted into the Rhodes Hall of Fame and the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society. Rafieetary graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience and was the recipient of the 2012 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, which is presented annually to two students who have shown selfless service to the college and the community.
Rafieetary went on to earn a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), where he was presented the Robert L. Summitt M.D. Distinguished Student Achievement Award. He completed his Transitional Internship at Methodist University Hospital in 2018, gaining experience with inpatient and outpatient internal medicine, intensive care unit, emergency medicine, and general surgery. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the UTHSC Hamilton Eye Institute in 2021 and a retina fellowship at the Charles Retina Institute in 2023.
Rafieetary is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and specializes in medical and surgical management of retinal diseases.