Sharing a Vision for the Future

Affiliation in the name of collaboration: The tight partnership between the ESCRS and their national counterparts has always been a key value for the development of a greater scientific network on a continental scale, with the common goal of improving ophthalmology by sharing information, encouraging and financing new research, and creating a common language towards standardisation and consensus for the benefit of the patient.

The Italian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (AICCER) remains one of the most important points of reference for ophthalmologists specialised in the anterior segment.

“We have a lot in common with AICCER,” explained Filomena Ribeiro MD, PhD, president of the ESCRS, during the 26th AICCER congress held in Trieste in late March 2025. “This is a society that is clearly committed to providing a high level of scientific information, not only in refractive surgery, not only in intraocular surgery, but also corneal surgery and many different aspects of ophthalmology. We are very proud to be able to benefit from all this knowledge.”

Many the most important topics ESCRS promotes were presented to a crowded and interested audience in Trieste. For example, a session dedicated to the EPICAT study shared the compelling option of a dropless cataract surgery.

Oliver Findl MD pointed out that sharing the recent findings of this study on a national level could be game changing, given the impact that dropless cataract surgery could have on the Italian healthcare system, as well as its surgeons, patients, and caretakers.

The new ESCRS functional classification system of presbyopia-correcting IOLs was another hot topic at the congress. This evidence-based classification defines IOLs based on different ranges of field, aiming to streamline the description of existing and future IOLs for researchers, clinicians, patients, and industry.

Joaquín Fernández MD, PhD noted the development of this classification is still ongoing, with plans to include contrast sensitivity and photic phenomena, among others. This process will start with national societies before returning to the collaboration between ESCRS and ASCRS as part of a broader strategy.

IOL classification is a topic that has become more pressing every year due to the sheer number of premium lenses, added Robert Bellucci MD. He stressed it is essential for the ESCRS to provide eye doctors with all the instruments to better communicate with the patient, helping them better understand what they will achieve and not achieve.

Another hot topic in Trieste was artificial intelligence in healthcare, particularly its application in the field of ophthalmology. AI is destined to be increasingly important, eventually becoming a central part of the ophthalmologist’s everyday professional life, Dr Bellucci noted.

The AICCER congress was also conducted with an eye towards sustainability and equity—principles that resonate with and guide ESCRS, as evidenced by initiatives such as the BoSS (Building Our Sustainable Society) project, Professor Ribeiro observed. She added the idea of national societies following the same goals and the same path is rewarding.

Yet the AICCER congress has some characteristics that differentiate it from the ESCRS. According to Dr Findl, the most interesting part of the congress was the live surgery events, something that would be difficult to replicate on a broader scale. Despite the language barrier, he said, it was interesting to sit down and watch a live surgery, something in which the Italians have always been at the forefront.

Some of the topics discussed on a national level may provoke conversations on a continental scale. “There are some new approaches regarding the preoperative treatment of patients (related to the severity of dry eye) that need to be broadened,” Dr Bellucci said. “Some of these preoperative protocols discussed in Trieste really inspired me to change my approach to the patient.”

“There are a lot of talks regarding communication with the patient,” Prof Ribeiro echoed. “This is something that really makes a change in our practice. As physicians, we are not always prepared to deal with the patient, and I think this is an extremely good topic to develop and integrate in our clinical practice.”

Prof Ribeiro said the success of the 26th AICCER congress represents an additional step for tighter collaboration between national and international societies. “This is a further reason to commit ESCRS to share its projects with this society, and by doing that, we are sharing their projects with all cataract and refractive surgeons in Europe.”

Filomena Ribeiro MD, PhD, FEBO is president of ESCRS and Head of Department at Hospital da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal. filomenajribeiro@gmail.com

Oliver Findl MD, MBA, FEBO is Chief of the Department of Ophthalmology at Vienna Hanusch Hospital, Austria, and past president of the ESCRS. oliver@findl.at

Joaquín Fernández Pérez MD, PhD is Managing Director at Qvision, Almería, Spain, and secretary of the ESCRS. joaquinfernandezoft@qvision.es

Roberto Bellucci MD is Chief of the Ophthalmic Unit at the Hospital and University of Verona, Italy, and past president of the ESCRS. roberto.bellucci52@gmail.com