ESCRS WINTER MEETING IS EVOLVING

The 16th ESCRS Winter Meeting in Prague has continued the improvements made in both the format and content of the recent meetings held in Budapest in 2010 and Istanbul in 2011.

“The first winter meetings held in the late 1990s were almost entirely dedicated to refractive surgery,†he said, “and the main autumn meeting was predominantly a cataract meeting. In recent years, the thrust of the winter meeting has evolved and I think it has evolved very much for the better,†said ESCRS president Peter Barry.

Dr Barry pointed out that the society had made a commitment to hold the winter meetings in emerging European countries that in the past might not have had the opportunity to host major international meetings. “The winter meeting now has a similar format to the main meeting in terms of symposia, free papers, instructional courses and wet labs,†he said. “It might be somewhat more didactic than the main meeting but it also has innovative components similar to our main meeting.â€

Industry Support

Dr Barry said the ESCRS was also very grateful that the international industry had continued to support the winter meeting to ensure that there was a lively trade exhibition at the meeting.

“The meeting is becoming more important in its own right,†he said, “and it is providing excellent opportunities for local ophthalmologists for practising and training. We also introduced lower registration fees for delegates from the countries close to Prague so that it is more economic and convenient for them to attend the meeting.â€

An indication of the success of this initiative is the fact that more than 100 delegates from the Czech Republic attended this year's meeting in Prague, compared to seven attendees from that country in 2011.

Scientific Programme

The meeting opened on Friday February 3 with the Annual Cornea Day co-hosted by ESCRS and EuCornea. Other first-day highlights included a symposium on lens surgery in glaucoma patients, free papers and basic optics, cataract and refractive courses. The schedule on Saturday February 4 included symposia on anterior segment complications and correction of irregular astigmatism, live surgery organised by the Czech Society and cornea, refractive and cataract courses. The meeting concluded on Sunday February 5 with free papers, a Czech Society session and a symposium on evaluation of visual performance.

iLearn

Another important initiative announced at this year’s meeting was the launch of iLearn, the new e-learning solution for ESCRS members.

“I think this new e-learning initiative underscores the commitment of the ESCRS to serve its members by offering them the means to acquire new knowledge and keep abreast of developments in a field that is constantly evolving,†said ESCRS Education chairman Paul Rosen.

“We all recognise the importance of keeping our surgical skills and knowledge up to date for the benefit of our patients. iLearn will go some way towards enabling us to do that,†he said.