EyeWorld Asia-Pacific June 2014 Issue

35 EWAP CAtArACt/IOL Pseudophakic dysphotopsia June 2014 The World Cornea Congress VII (WCCVII), sponsored by the Cornea Society, will be held next spring in San Diego, Calif. The meeting will take place from April 15–17, 2015, immediately preceding the ASCRS•ASOA Annual Symposium and Congress in San Diego. The World Cornea Congress is the Cornea Society’s premiere educational and research meeting, highlighting progress and innovations in both the clinical and research efforts of the international cornea community. “This is the place to be for cornea specialists,” said Christopher J. Rapuano, MD, at Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa., and president of the Cornea Society. “I think it’s the biggest cornea subspecialty meeting that happens any given year. It’s where things happen and are discussed—and you can see friends and colleagues from all over the world.” The WCCVII will begin with a welcome reception on Wednesday, April 15, followed by the opening ceremony and meeting on Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17. The meeting will have concurrent tracks—invited speaker sessions and free paper and poster sessions. The meeting will also have an exhibit hall. Featuring topics including medical cornea, surgical cornea and basic sciences such as biochemistry and corneal genetics, the meeting should provide a comprehensive learning experience and exciting program for attendees. Topics to be discussed will include refractive surgery, infections and inflammation, world health and eye banking, ocular surface disease, corneal tissue engineering, physiology and wound healing, corneal transplantation, treatment of ectatic disorders, and others. “It’s a very complete cornea meeting,” Dr. Rapuano said. The Cornea Society will put out the call for papers and posters over the summer and continue planning activities throughout the rest of the year. The final program for invited speakers should be available in the fall, and the program for papers and posters will be available early in 2015. The first WCC was held in 1964 in Washington, D.C., organized by J. Harry King, MD. Initially held every 10 years, rapid advances in the field, such as innovations in corneal transplantation and surgical techniques, prompted the Cornea Society to schedule the congress approximately every 5 years. “Cornea was becoming a much more active field because of all these changes,” Dr. Rapuano said. “The world of medicine was changing too, but the field of cornea made great advancements from 15 to 10 to 5 years ago, and continues to makes advances.” The previous World Cornea Congress, WCCVI, was held in Boston, Mass. in 2010. Under the leadership of Edward Holland, MD, and Mark Mannis, MD, the meeting broke attendance records. With more than 2,000 attendees from around the world, it became one of the largest subspecialty meetings held that year, and the society hopes to continue that trend for the 2015 meeting, Dr. Rapuano said. UPCOMING 2015 WORLD CORNEA CONGRESS VII PROMISES EXCITING PROGRAM by Lauren Lipuma, EyeWorld Staff Writer REGISTRATION OPENS—OCTOBER 8