Friday, February 8, 2008

EuroTimes Crosslinking Debate Is One of Highlights of ESCRS Annual Cornea Day.

EuroTimes hosted a special roundtable debate on Crosslinking on the opening day of the 12th European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) Winter Refractive Surgery Meeting in Barcelona.

Dr Jose Guell and EuroTimes Editor Sean Henahan moderated the forum which featured contributions from Dr Joseph Colin, Dr Francois Malecaze and Dr Theo Seiler.

The doctors participating in the session took time out from their busy schedules to take part in a lively and informative discussion which looked at some of the major issues in Crosslinking.

EuroTimes readers can look forward to some fascinating insights when the discussion is published in the coming months, so watch this space for further details.

Barcelona is a beautiful city but, unfortunately, we haven't got to see very much of it so far because of the workload that surrounds hosting a major international conference.

The ESCRS staff deserve special credit for the hard work they have done in making sure that the meeting attended by more than 800 delegates, one of the highest attended winter meetings in recent years, runs smoothly and efficiently.

The meeting started with VII International Corneal Surgery and Diseases meeting held in conjunction with the annual ESCRS Cornea Day.

The all-day event covered a range of topics, including corneal collagen cross-linking, the latest in high risk keratoplasty procedures, therapeutic applications of limbal stem cells, and the uses of the femtosecond laser in lamellar surgery.

Today also saw the first of three Focus Sessions, which considered the merits of various corneal and lenticular approaches to presbyopia. Clinical experts from around the world discussed the latest laser based treatments such as advanced monovision, multifocal ablation, the role for conductive keratoplasty, the utility of refractive lens exchange, as well as techniques based on scleral expansion.

Tomorrow offers participants a selection of three Free Paper sessions. First on the list is a session on the perennial issue of astigmatism and cataract surgery (14.00-15.30, Room H2). Topics include incisional techniques, new IOLs, and corneal laser approaches.

Attendees interested in the subject also won’t want to miss Sunday’s Focus Session on “How to Correct Astigmatism in Cataract Surgery” (11.00-13.00, Room HJ).

Presbyopia has become the new frontier for refractive surgeons. A Free Paper session tomorrow, dedicated to this subject, includes updates on the ever-increasing variety multifocal IOLs now available to surgeons, as well as some products in the pipeline. (14.00-15.30, Room HJ).

On the laser side, another Free Paper session will look at a variety of topics ranging from pre-operative diagnostics to femtosecond laser techniques. (14.00-15.30. Room F). Additional topics including problems associated with PRK, and early clinical results with new laser platforms will be discussed at Sunday’s Free Paper session on laser refractive surgery (8.00-10.30, Room HJ).

Saturday afternoon features a Focus Session on Laser Refractive Surgery: Surface, Stromal or In Between (16.00-18.00, Room HJ) and on Sunday morning there will be a Free Paper session on the latest in presbyopia treatment on the keratectasia, bioptics, solid-state lasers (08.00-10.30 Room F).

It's a very busy schedule and even if you can't get to attend all the sessions, we will be reporting on all the hot topics in EuroTimes in the coming months.

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