ESASO TO HOST TWO MAJOR MEETINGS

These are exciting times in Lugano with two major meetings planned for October and November 2012. The first event is the Live Surgery Symposium which will discuss “New trends in anterior segment surgeryâ€.

José L Güell MD, Spain, chairman of the Scientific Committee for the meeting, said the symposium was a new event for ESASO and it was planned to hold it every year from now on at the school’s campus in Lugano, Switzerland.

“This year we will be discussing some specific hot topics,†he said. “Among the topics are Femtosecond Laser Assisted Anterior Segment Surgery, New Toric and Multifocal IOLs and Keratoconus Management.â€

Prof Güell said one of ESASO’s main activities was the holding of week-long educational courses in Lugano and the symposium was an important part of that programme. “I think this will be a very good meeting and we have an excellent scientific programme,†he said.

Prof Güell said students attending the course would learn the latest concepts in the management of keratoconus and the use of femtosecond laser technology for both corneal and cataract surgery. “We will also have good case reports on the use of intraocular lenses,†he said. “Students will also be able to see some live surgery cases.â€

Full details of the programme are available on: www.esaso.org/live-surgery-symposium-2012.

AMD and Retina

Congress The 12th International AMD and Retina Congress will be held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 2-3 November, 2012, and will feature a scientific programme which includes plenary sessions, panel discussions, case studies and meet-the-expert sessions delivered by distinguished speakers from Europe and other continents. In addition to this programme, a scientific poster exhibition is planned and the best poster presented at the congress will be nominated by the Scientific Committee. Other highlights will be the 3rd ESASO Graduate Award Ceremony and the 3rd XOVA Award Ceremony, supported by Novartis.

“This is a major meeting on the international ophthalmology calendar and we have a different venue every year,†said Francesco Bandello MD, chairman of the Scientific Committee for the congress. “We are delighted to be holding the meeting in Prague this year as it is very important to us to open up our meetings to our eastern European colleagues,†he said. “It is also important to point out that this is an independent meeting organised by

ESASO and the independence of our scientific programme is very important,†said Prof Bandello.

Last year’s congress in Lisbon, Portugal was attended by over 1,100 delegates and already more than 800 delegates have registered for the Prague meeting. “I am confident,†said Prof Bandello, “that the success of former meetings will be repeated this year.â€

Surgical topics

“Our focus will be on the diagnosis and treatment of retina and macular diseases,†said Prof Bandello, “and this year we have an exciting new addition to our programme.

“At previous meetings we have concentrated on medical retina, but this year’s meeting will also have sessions devoted to surgical topics,†he said. “We will also have some exciting news about the development of new compounds that could change the approach to some retinal diseases.â€

Full information on the congress is available at: www.esaso.org/12th-international-amd-and-retina-congress.