Ukraine’s Ophthalmic Surgeons Hold Congress Amidst Conflict

Our train pulled in just after 5:00 a.m., right on time. We emerged from our compartment as the carriage screeched to a halt and climbed down the stairs into Kyiv’s morning mist. The curfew had just been lifted across the city as we arrived at our hotel, still in the dark of night.

Many of us have made long journeys to attend ophthalmology conferences, but few will experience travelling across Ukraine at night to reach the nation’s capital. From the Polish border town of Chełm, it took about 12 hours in all—half a day but a whole differ¬ent reality as Russia continues its merciless invasion, the skies closed to civilian aircraft.

The 6th Congress of the Union of Ukrainian Ophthalmic Surgeons (SUO), named ‘Ophthalmic Light,’ had all the hallmarks of an ophthalmology congress: guest speakers (including members of the ESCRS), presentations, company exhibits, and the occasional free giveaway. But the bomb shelter may have caught many international guests off guard, as might the presence of multiple military doctors in their fatigues. For as much as oph¬thalmology in Ukraine tries to persist as it did before the full-scale invasion in 2022, the reality is that the work of doctors and their colleagues is dominated by war.

“I am very, very proud that our society, that our Ukrainian ophthalmologists and ophthalmic surgeons, can do their surgery at this time, improve their skills, and develop their knowledge,” said Volodymyr Melnyk MD, the organiser of the conference and one of Ukraine’s leading ophthalmologists.

There are never enough Ahmed valves

Like many of his colleagues, Dr Melnyk’s usual practice has been significantly disrupt¬ed by Russia’s invasion. Disruption of transport services and regular blackouts make it difficult for many patients to travel to his clinic, and others are trapped in frontline cities or behind enemy lines, preventing them from continuing treatment.

Something that Dr Melnyk urgently requires, as do many of his colleagues, is Ahmed valves. This is an ongoing need, but some respite came in the form of Gauti Jóhannesson MD, PhD and Thiemo Rudolf MD, the only European ophthalmologists to make it to the congress, who brought some of the valves with them on the train from Poland.

“I think it’s extraordinary how resilient they are, despite the war and all the difficulties they face. They’re still managing to host a congress, which is extraordinary. So, I‘m very impressed,” Dr Rudolf said.

“They face incredible problems getting tools and equipment,” Dr Jóhannesson said. “It’s really a hard struggle for them to keep business and healthcare running, especially from what we’ve heard when you have to deal with air raid alarms regularly during the night, and then you’re supposed to work 8–12 hours.”

The dangers of drones to eyes

Ocular trauma dominated much of the discussion at Ophthalmic Light. A common injury in wartime, ocular trauma is significantly more prevalent in the Ukraine-Russia War than in other recent conflicts, including the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan.

There are a variety of reasons for this, with the un¬precedented presence of drones being foremost among them. First-person viewer (FPV) drones are small, but they can carry fragmentary explosives like grenades and fly directly into small places that maximise the damage caused by such blasts.

It made for an unusual scene, perusing the stalls organised by familiar pharmaceutical and technology companies such as Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, and World Medicine, then entering a conference room where some of the most horrific ocular injuries this reporter has ever seen were being discussed. Notwithstanding the fleeting moments of normality I experienced, the war raging in Ukraine’s east and south was ever present.

It was remarkable that Dr Melnyk and his colleagues were able to organise a conference under these condi¬tions. While the war continues, and after it finally stops, Ukraine’s ophthalmologists will need help from their European counterparts. Dr Melnyk is already grateful for the support of the ESCRS and its members.

“Thanks to the efforts of ESCRS, we can send our young Ukrainian ophthalmologists to Poland for phacoemulsification education. We can send them abroad to learn from the best ophthalmologists in Europe today,” Dr Melnyk said.

“We plan to share our experience with ocular trauma at the next ESCRS Congress in London, 2026. We are very thankful for this; unfortunately, our experience in this area is unique. We don’t know what can happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow; learning from us is better than having to go through what we did.”

Volodymyr Melnyk MD, PhD is Head of the Society of Ukrainian Ophthalmic Surgeons. suo.org.ua@gmail.com 
Gauti Jóhannesson MD, PhD is an associate professor and senior consultant physician at Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. gauti.johannesson@umu.se 
Thiemo Rudolph MD, FEBO is an ophthalmologist consultant at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. thiemo.rudolph@gu.se