APACRS 2021 Daily News (Sunday, 1 August 2021)

Opening Ceremony & APACRS LIM Lecture On Saturday, 31 July 2021 , the 33rd APACRS–SNEC 30th Anniversary International Meeting held its Opening Cere- mony featuring the 2021 APACRS LIM Lecture. In his welcome address at the Ceremony, Wong Tien Yin, MD, Singapore, said that despite the COVID-19 pandem- ic, the APACRS and SNEC decided together to hold the meeting because they believe in resilience. “This is how we overcome challenges,” he said. Guest-of-honor Vivian Balakrishnan, MD , Minister of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, reflected on the meeting’s theme, “Beyond 2020 - Progress to Perfection,” saying he found it very apt. The last one and a half years, he said, the world has relied on the progress of medical science like never before, yet also dealt with the problem of rampant misinformation. “This is the larger framework around what is being done today,” he said, with the meeting representing the march of science, the search for perfection, the need to convey ac- curate information in a convincing manner, avoiding, ideal- ly, politics and politicians—“my presence notwithstanding,” he quipped good-naturedly. Dr. Balakrishnan also paid tribute to Prof. Arthur Lim who founded both APACRS and SNEC, saying that Prof. Lim’s supreme confidence made him unafraid to share what he knew, and was therefore able to reach out to thousands, to elevate their standards, and give surgeons the confidence and wherewithal to provide ophthalmic services to the people of Asia and the Pacific—representing over half the world’s population. Also reflecting on the theme, APACRS President Abhay Vasavada, MD, India, said that the meeting showcases the latest, most innovative, cutting-edge, high-impact topics most relevant to this part of the world. He expressed his gratitude to all the attendees who made the effort to join the virtual meeting despite the difficulties and uncertainties of the pandemic. At the Opening Ceremony, honors were also present- ed to the SNEC Named Lecturers, Ian Constable, MD, Australia, Pearse Keane, MD, UK, Timothy Sullivan, MD, Australia; the APACRS Certified Educators (A.C.E.) Chen Weirong, MD, China, Timothy Roberts, MD, Australia , and Zhou Xingtao, MD, China; and APACRS Gold Medalist Chan Wing Kwong, MD, Singapore , who is also Organizing Chairman of the meeting, dubbed the “Unheralded Hero of APACRS” by the meeting’s Scientific Chairman, Ronald Yeoh, MD, Singapore. The final and highest honor accorded at the Opening Cer- emony was the 2021 APACRS LIM Lecture . For this year, the honoree, Ike K. Ahmed, MD, Canada , spoke on a topic that he said was close to his heart and dear to his in- terests: “Approaching Complex Cataract Anterior Segment Surgery,” in which he presented numerous cases requiring complex anterior segment reconstruction, each handled with such elegance, Dr. Yeoh said they seemed almost like a dance. In approaching complex cases, Dr. Ahmed advocated thinking simply, saying “complexity is simplicity multi- plied”—complex problems can be broken down into simple steps that can then be tackled systematically. While most surgeons tend to focus on motor skills when discussing complex surgery, Dr. Ahmed said that of at least equal importance are what he called “mindset skills” and cognitive skills. Everything, he said, starts with putting yourself in the right mindset, and to do so—as with motor skills—requires practice and exercise. Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons Sunday, 1 August 2021 EWAP Daily News - 1