EURETINA president welcomes "Guardians of Retina" to Copenhagen

[caption id="attachment_5166" align="alignnone" width="750"] EURETINA President Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth addressing delegates to the 16th EURETINA Congress at the opening ceremony[/caption]   Retinal specialists and researchers from across the globe are gathering in glorious autumn sunshine in Copenhagen this week for the 16th EURETINA Congress. As one of Scandinavia’s most vibrant and colourful cities, Copenhagen provides the ideal backdrop to this year’s gathering of clinicians and surgeons interested in the research and treatment of retinal and macular diseases. Addressing the assembled crowd at the official opening ceremony, EURETINA President Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth welcomed delegates to Copenhagen and said that she was gratified to see the upward trajectory of the organisation in recent years. “It is my great privilege and honour on behalf of the Board of the European Society of Retina Specialists to welcome you to the 16th EURETINA Congress in Copenhagen. Sixteen years after its inception in Hamburg, with a gathering of only 200 delegates, it is humbling to see the success of the EURETINA Congress today, opening its doors to over 6,000 delegates at its 16th meeting,” she said. Prof Schmidt-Erfurth reminded delegates of the important role they play as direct actors in fundamental issues of public health. “I think it is vital not to lose sight of the fact that we are guardians of the retina, with all the responsibility that entails,” she said. She noted that, despite immense progress in diagnostics and treatments in recent years, many common retinal diseases still lead to debilitating visual loss. “We need to remember that visual function has a direct impact on social functioning and impaired vision directly affects all levels of socio-economic wellbeing of individuals and society as a whole, including educational qualifications, employment status, social setting and condition and mental health,” she added. EURETINA LECTURE As part of the opening ceremony, this year’s EURETINA Lecture was delivered by Jose Cunha-Vaz of Portugal, discussing the key question of the blood-retinal barrier in retinal disease management. Prof Cunha-Vaz’s lecture was followed by the presentation of the EURETINA Video Competition Awards by Jan van Meurs, the incoming President of EURETINA. First prize went to Hemanth Murthy of India for his entry entitled ‘Facing the challenge – posterior vitreous detachment in difficult situations’. Second prize was awarded to Vishal Agrawal of India for ‘Comprehensive management strategies of posterior hyaloid removal in pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for paediatric retinal detachment, while Jay Chhablani of India and Sarah Karam of Spain shared joint third prize. Prof Schmidt-Erfurth brought proceedings to a close by wishing delegates a productive and stimulating meeting and said that she looked forward to seeing everyone next January in Vienna for the EURETINA Winter Meeting, and Barcelona in September 2017 for the 17th EURETINA Congress.