AN EXCELLENT PROGRAMME

On behalf of the Slovenian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, I would like to welcome delegates to the 18th ESCRS Winter Meeting in Ljubljana. The ESCRS Winter Meeting is one of the highlights of the ophthalmology year and this meeting has an excellent programme. The full meeting agenda is available on the ESCRS website at www.escrs.org, but let me talk you through some of the highlights. The Annual Cornea Day, organised by ESCRS and EuCornea, takes place on Friday 14 February.

The session will be chaired by the EuCornea president Dr Jose Guell and Rudy Nuijts, treasurer of the ESCRS. There will be keynote lectures and case presentations on a number of important topics. These topics include management of corneal complications after refractive surgery, tips and pitfalls in corneal graft surgery, ocular surface disease and miscellaneous cases including corneal inflammation, degeneration and infections.

Friday is also an important day for young ophthalmologists with the Young Ophthalmologists Programme, chaired by Oliver Findl, Austria; Simone Morselli, Italy; and Kaarina Vannas, Finland. This three-hour programme is aimed specifically at ophthalmologists in training and will highlight several topics that will recur throughout the meeting.

On Saturday, the Slovenian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons will host Live Surgery which will be transmitted from the University Medical Centre, University Eye Hospital, Ljubljana. I am also pleased to announce that the Slovenian Society’s symposium on Sunday, the last day of the meeting, will have simultaneous translation from Slovenian to English.

The symposia held during the meeting always attract large attendances and we look forward to lively presentations on Enhancements in Pseudophakia, Applications of the Femtosecond Laser, an Update on Endophthalmitis and a special symposium on The Perfect Phaco which will be organised by the Young Ophthalmologists Committee.

There are also a number of important courses including courses in Basic Optics, a Cataract Surgery Didactic Course, a Refractive Surgery Didactic Course and a Cornea Didactic Course. For those delegates who wish to see the sights of Ljubljana we have many beautiful attractions.

I recommend that delegates should visit the National Museum of Contemporary History and the City Museum of Ljubljana. The city’s river bands are also very beautiful and visitors will get a chance to see the wonderful work of Ljubljana’s celebrated architect, Joze Plecnik. Of course, there is much more to see and even at a time when the weather may be cold, I urge you to take a walk through our beautiful city and enjoy the clean fresh air of Ljubljana.