Strengthening ties

[caption id="attachment_14048" align="alignleft" width="1024"] HSIOIRS President Dr Konstantina Koufala with ESCRS President Professor Béatrice Cochener-Lamard at the 23rd ESCRS Winter Meeting in Athens, Greece[/caption] The 23rd ESCRS Winter Meeting in Athens, Greece, which convened from Friday February 15 to Sunday February 17, was a major success with more than 1,870 delegates in attendance. “We are delighted to be returning here after very successful meetings in 1999, 2007 and 2016, and to be joined once again by our colleagues from the Hellenic Society of Intraocular Implant and Refractive Surgery,” said Professor Béatrice Cochener-Lamard, President, ESCRS. “The HSIOIRS has made a significant contribution to the scientific programme and I would like to thank Dr Konstantina Koufala, HSIOIRS President, and everyone involved for all their time and support,” said Professor Cochener-Lamard. Dr Koufala said that from the very beginning, HSIOIRS enriched the programme of its scientific events with the participation of internationally distinguished ophthalmologists and has pursued collaborations with other established European and International ophthalmological societies. “We especially need to mention that our Society has maintained strong ties with the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) for many years,” said Dr Koufala. The Cornea Day in conjunction with EuCornea on Friday was well-attended, and the Young Ophthalmologists Programme, ‘Learning from the Learners’, was also a popular attraction, as was the Basic Optics Course. Instructional courses on Friday included ‘Intraocular Lenses in the Absence of Capsular Support’, ‘Complex Cataract Surgery’ and ‘Spectacle Independence After Cataract Surgery’. Another highlight of Friday’s programme was the HSIOIRS Kelman lecture on ‘Life Behind the Lens’, delivered by ESCRS Past-President Professor David Spalton. In his lecture,delivered during the Welcome Ceremony, President Spalton discussed the unsolved problem of long-term posterior capsule opacification (PCO) prevention. The Meeting continued on Saturday with Cornea, Cataract Surgery and Refractive Surgery Didactic Courses, the European Society of Ophthalmic Nurses and Technicians Didactic Day, a Moderated Poster Session and Symposia on ‘Trends in Refractive Surgery’ and ‘When the Unexpected Happens’. The HSIOIRS also organised a Near Live Surgery session. POSTER PRIZES A prize of €1,000 was awarded to the Meeting’s best Cataract and Refractive ePoster presentations. The prize in the Refractive category went to Florian Schraml, Germany, for ‘Predictability of intraocular lens power calculation after SMILE for myopia’. The prize in the Cataract category went to Ioannis Tzamichas, Greece, for ‘Scleral fixation of dislocated 1-piece IOL without IOL explantation or intrascleral sutureless 3-piece IOL fixation: making the right surgical decision’. The Meeting concluded on Sunday with a symposium organised by the YO Committee on ‘Pearls for the Young Cataract Surgeon’ and a HSIOIRS symposium on ‘Advanced Technology: Better Results?’ “With so much on offer, it is impossible to attend every session. However, if you log on to the Education Portal on the ESCRS website, you can access the sessions on ESCRS On Demand and the didactic courses on ESCRS iLearn,” said Prof Cochener-Lamard.

Tags: ESCRS, HSIOIRS