EyeWorld Asia-Pacific June 2011 Issue

49 EW NEWS & OPINION June 2011 ASCRS•ASOA 2011: Administrators & innovators, together by EyeWorld Staff EyeWorld reports on the 2011 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress F ollowing the 2011 Cornea and Glaucoma days, the 37th ASCRS Symposium & Congress officially opened in San Diego on 26 March 2011 with a well-attended Opening General Session. Program chair Roger F. Steinert, MD, Irving H. Leopold professor, chair of ophthalmology, director, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine, Calif., USA, issued a warm welcome. “Each year, we strive to give you the very best program in anterior segment surgery, and this year will prove to be no exception,” Dr. Steinert said, highlighting the many special program offerings, including the Lecture on Science and Medicine featuring Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, discussing his book The Emperor of All Maladies, A Biography of Cancer with Nick Mamalis, MD, professor of ophthalmology, John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery symposium on Femtosecond Laser Applications in Anterior Segment Surgery; and the Clinical Carryout session. Richard Lindstrom, MD, adjunct professor emeritus, ophthalmology department, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., USA, gave updates on the ASCRS Foundation mission, and ASCRS members announced two new inductees into the Ophthalmology Hall of Fame— Frederick H. Verhoeff, MD, the father of ophthalmic pathology in the United States, and Alfred Sommer, MD, professor of ophthalmology, School of Medicine, and dean emeritus and professor of epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., USA. In his speech, outgoing president R. Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD, Woolfson Eye Institute, Atlanta, Ga., USA, told members his term saw the advent of the controversial FDA LASIK Quality of Life Study. “We are cautiously optimistic that this will produce the same excellent results that have been reported in many FDA clinical trials and post- approval studies.” Dr. Stulting said that recent changes in the regulatory climate in the US “are forcing new product development overseas and restricting access of the American public to new technology that is supported by the bulk of published, scientific information”. Incoming president Edward J. Holland, MD, professor of ophthalmology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, said that his yearlong tenure will focus on broadening involvement in the organization, especially among young surgeons. Three doctors were honored for their longtime commitment to ASCRS and ophthalmology— Douglas Koch, MD, professor and the Allen, Mosbacher, and Law Chair in Ophthalmology, Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Howard Fine, MD, clinical professor, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore., USA; and Stephen Obstbaum, MD, professor, ophthalmology department, New York University School of Medicine, NY, USA. Dr. Holland said that ASCRS and EyeWorld are committed to being on the forefront of education for laser-assisted cataract surgery, and he encouraged members to donate to eyePAC and meet with their state and federal legislators. Abhay R. Vasavada, FRCS, medical and research director, Raghudeep Eye Clinic, Ahmedabad, India, was presented with the Binkhorst Medal and delivered the Binkhorst Lecture, “Pediatric Cataract: The Compelling Quest”, which examined the problems associated with pediatric cataracts. Honored guests included Gavin S. Herbert, chairman emeritus, Allergan, Irvine, Calif., USA, and Ulf Stenevi, MD, professor and chair, ophthalmology department, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Mr. Herbert founded Allergan in 1950, and Dr. Steveni is one of the world’s leaders in stem-cell research and corneal repair. Ray Kurzweil, author, inventor, and futurist, was the keynote speaker. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition, text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic keyboard instruments, and is the author of several books on health, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, the technological singularity, and futurism. ASOA celebrates 25 years This year also marks the 25th year of the ASOA, and membership has never been better, said outgoing ASOA president Vonda Syler, C.O.E. In 2009, there were 1,965 members; now membership is at 2,402. Lisa Gangi, C.O.E., ASOA’s new president, thanked Ms. Syler for her previous work and presented her with a plaque to commemorate the experience. “The intimacy of our working relationship and extraordinary importance of ASOA to the ASCRS doctors cannot be understated,” said outgoing ASCRS President Dr. Stulting. In the US, the past few years have seen a continued reduction in the demands for elective procedures, the implementation of a new healthcare reform law, and uncertainty in what the future holds, he said. “It makes the job of an administrator even more important.” Innovators at ASCRS With more than 800 papers submitted on “widely ranging topics,” ASCRS Program Chair Dr. Steinert culled what he called the best of the best to be presented at this year’s Innovators Session. Among the topics was using rat models to determine the effect of intraocularly administered photoactive quantum dots in progressive photoreceptor degeneration. Jeffrey L. Olson, MD, associate professor, ophthalmology department, University of Colorado, Denver, said both control and sham surgery groups demonstrated a progressive decline in the amplitude of the ERG recordings over the 6 weeks post-procedure. Ekkehard Fabian, MD, Rosenheim, Germany, spoke about a new duo linear foot pedal function to optimize phaco technique. Using a duo linear foot pedal helps to adopt settings on the fly to specific situations during lens removal surgery, he said. Focused femtosecond laser pulses can increase the refractive index of lens material by about 0.01, said Josef F. Bille, MD , University of Heidelberg, Germany. “All cataract surgery results in considerable refractive errors,” he said. By personalizing and customizing the IOL pre-op, physicians can adjust the IOL power based on the individual patient. continued on page 50