EyeWorld Asia-Pacific June 2012 Issue

June 2012 9 EWAP NEWS & OPINION 2012 APACRS Film Festival: Another level of sophistication Apart from the elegance, efficiency, and excellence of his or her own work, the sophisticated surgeon ideally is also defined by an ability to inspire or educate others toward achieving the same levels of sophistication. The film festival, in its own way, explores this unique quality. Each year, the very best films at the APACRS Film Festival make the blend of art, entertainment, and education seem almost effortless, displaying a sophisticated marriage of ophthalmic surgical acumen and cinematic vision. This year’s crop of winners are no exception. In the category for Cataract Complications/Challenging Cases, Ronald Yeoh, MD , Singapore, took the prize for “Fibro follies”, a film he produced to highlight the difficulties that capsular fibrosis causes and how surgeons can manage these problems. In the category for Cataract General, Suresh Pandey, MD , India, won with “Piggyback implantation of toric and multifocal IOL: Exploring uncharted territory.” In the Refractive/Cornea Surgery category, Sujatha Mohan, MD, India, won with “LASIK lapses.” Describing her film, Dr. Mohan said that although current excimer lasers, eyetracking, wavefront- and topography-guided treatment is “almost completely safe,” flap creation using mechanical microkeratomes remains “a major stress” to surgeons. Her film shows complications associated with mechanical microkeratomes and emphasizes the need to understand the pros and cons of what she called a “seemingly innocuous cosmetic procedure.” In the General Interest category, Abhay Vasavada, MD , India, won with his film “Lights, Camera, Action.” Last but not least, the Grand Prize went to Myoung Joon Kim, MD , South Korea, for his film “Let there be Wavefront II.” The film is a sequel to “Let there be Wavefront,” which illustrated the basic concept of wavefront. In the follow up to that film, Dr. Kim further enhances our understanding of spherical aberration, which he called “one of the most important higher order aberrations.” Dr. Kim’s film explores the interactions between spherical aberration and defocus and their impact on cataract and refractive surgery as well as presbyopia correction. The winners were announced at the Film Festival Awards Ceremony held on 2 June 2012 at the Shanghai International Convention Center Auditorium. The 2012 APACRS Film Festival was sponsored by Bausch + Lomb (Rochester, NY, USA). EWAP Steve Schallhorn, MD (ASCRS), examined the use of IOLs and laser surgery. Dr. Cochener said that IOL exchange is indicated for >3 D of residual error, but the exchange should be done within 3 months of the initial implantation to minimize risks. A useful alternative strategy for correcting residual refractive errors, she said, is piggyback IOL implantation, which minimizes surgical trauma, corrects the error predictably, is reversible, and has produced encouraging results thus far. Laser vision correction is another alternative, said Dr. Schallhorn. Its advantages include the precision of excimer lasers and a wide range of treatment. It is indicated in patients with no corneal pathology and sufficient corneal tissue, and while visual recovery may be fast, it may also be affected by associated conditions such as dry eye. EWAP Editor’s note: Dr. Tyson consults and does research for various companies that produce phaco machines relevant to his lecture, including Abbott Medical Optics (AMO, Santa Ana, Calif., USA), Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas, USA/Hünenberg, Switzerland), and Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, NY, USA). Dr. Schallhorn is a consultant for AMO. Dr. Stulting consults for various ophthalmology companies. Dr. Yeoh is on Alcon’s Speaker Panel. None of the other doctors have financial interests related to their lectures.