Successful congress for EuCornea with excellent programme

EuCornea may be a young society in comparison to some of the older, more established ophthalmological societies, but in four short years it has made a major impact and there are exciting plans for its future development. José Güell MD has been a driving force in the promotion and exposition of corneal research and surgery, in addition to his pioneering work in refractive surgery. Four years ago he helped found EuCornea, the first Europe-wide organisation devoted to the treatment of corneal disease. So it was fitting that Dr Güell was given the opportunity as president of EuCornea to address delegates at the 4th EuCornea Congress in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, which started yesterday and which concludes today. High calibre programme Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Dr Güell said the success of EuCornea was due to the high calibre of the scientific programme. “As president of EuCornea it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Amsterdam for the 4th EuCornea congress,” said Dr Güell. “I am pleased to announce that this looks set to be another successful congress with almost 660 ophthalmologists attending. “I would like to thank all the organisers and speakers for their invaluable role in creating such a high calibre scientific programme for the 4th Congress.” Dr Güell said the congress promised to deliver an excellent programme with world leaders in the field of cornea and ocular surface disease speaking across 12 symposia, six courses and 12 free paper sessions.

“At a time when we all have to choose carefully which congresses we attend, offering delegates more than one meeting at the same time seems to be very valuable,” said Dr Güell. Joint symposium “We are delighted to once again partner our congress with the XXXI Congress of the ESCRS and I would like to draw your attention to the joint ESCRS/EuCornea symposium on Refractive Surgery in Risky Cornea. “This symposium will be chaired by Beatrice Cochener and Rudy Nuijts with co- chairperson Roberto Bellucci. It takes place today at 14.00. Dr Güell said he was also pleased to announce that in September 2014, EuCornea will be partnered with the ESCRS and EURETINA congresses in London.

“We hope that this alliance of related meetings will be highly beneficial for members and delegates from all organisations,” he said. The Opening Ceremony was also addressed by Michel Zaal, president of the Dutch Cornea Society, and Donald Tan, president of the Asia Cornea Society and president of The Cornea Society. Dr Güell said they were honoured to have Prof Gabriel van Rij present this year’s EuCornea Medal Lecture. Dr van Rij received the EuCornea Medal after his presentation on “The Cornea: How Many Endothelial Cells are Necessary?” A report on Prof van Rij’s presentation will be published in tomorrow’s ET Today.