Dr Melody Sun – Ophthalmologist and Refractive Surgeon – Grow

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Melody Sun, a general ophthalmologist and refractive surgeon in private practice. Dr Sun’s career brings together medicine, technology and the precision of delicate surgery, driven by a deep interest in the human body, a commitment to problem-solving and a passion for restoring vision.

Her path into medicine began with curiosity and courage. Growing up in a family where illness was often associated with fear, Dr Sun wanted to understand how modern medicine can treat disease. For her, medicine encompasses the body’s intricate systems, the people it treats, compassion and helping patients overcome uncertainty.

Finding Her Way into Ophthalmology

Although ophthalmology was not a major focus during her medical training, a suggestion from her father helped open the door to the speciality. What began as a recommendation became a field she embraced fully. Dr Sun describes the eye as both a world of its own and a window into the rest of the body, making ophthalmology a discipline that combines medical insight with surgical precision.

The Precision and Impact of Restoring Sight

As a refractive surgeon, Dr Sun works in an area of ophthalmology focused on reducing patients’ dependence on glasses or contact lenses. She explains procedures such as laser vision correction, implantable contact lenses and modern cataract surgery in accessible terms, showing how advances in technology and surgical planning can transform daily life. Cataract surgery, in particular, can restore independence and dignity to patients who may have lost the ability to navigate, groom themselves or recognise their loved ones clearly.

Women in a Specialised Surgical Field

The conversation explores the realities of building a career as a woman in a demanding surgical speciality. Dr Sun reflects on the importance of kindness, encouragement and mentorship, recalling how supportive colleagues helped build her confidence as she learned cataract surgery. She also speaks honestly about pregnancy, motherhood and training, noting that women often have to navigate career milestones alongside family decisions, and that support within the workplace can make a profound difference.

Women’s Eye Health Matters

Applying a gender lens to eye health, Dr Sun highlights conditions that may affect women more frequently, including dry eye linked to hormonal changes, pregnancy-related vision changes and eye complications associated with autoimmune disease. We discuss the relatively low allocation of research funding towards women’s health, which emphasises reproductive health, and we argue that women’s health should not be reduced to reproductive health alone. Greater awareness, advocacy and research funding are needed to understand how different conditions affect women across the whole body.

Building a Practice and a Life with Purpose

Beyond clinical work, Dr Sun is also building her own clinic, a process she describes as humbling, uncertain and outside her comfort zone. Yet it also represents freedom: the freedom to shape patient care, build something of her own and bring her personal vision into practice. Her reflections on balance are grounded in realism rather than perfection. She emphasises organisation, prioritisation and the need for women not to neglect themselves while managing career, family and responsibility.

The conversation closes with a message of resilience and boldness. Dr Sun encourages girls and women to build strong foundations, especially in maths and science if they are considering medicine, but also to remember that they do not need to have their whole lives figured out early. Her advice is to find your “why”, keep going when the path becomes difficult, appreciate the journey and be audacious enough to ask for what you want, because the worst answer is simply no.