CRS Societies join forces to offer attendees a global perspective

ASCRS


I. Howard Fine, M.D.
APACRS


Graham Barrett, F.R.A.C.O.
ALACCSA


William De La Peña, M.D.
ESCRS


Jose Guell, M.D.

Combined Symposia of Cataract and Refractive Societies holds first symposia at ASCRS 2010

“The [symposia] was established to provide a forum for the major regional societies in cataract and refractive surgery from the U.S.A., Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America to co-coordinate their educational activities at their respective annual meetings.”
Graham D. Barrett, F.R.A.C.O

Panel from last year’s Around the World symposium; this year, this session is being named the Combined Cataract & Refractive Societies symposium

More images from last year’s symposium; this year’s CRS symposium promises to be even better than last year’s session




Presenting physicians from the Around the World session at the 2009 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress; This year’s CRS symposia promises to be even more robust than last year’s session
“It’s nice to see the international societies merge together and focus on the same topic.”
Jose Güell, M.D., current ESCRS president

2009 ASCRS attendees listen at last year’s Around the World session; this year’s CRS symposia is a “Can’t Miss” event

Think of it like the United Nations of presbyopia. A session to take place at this month’s ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress in Boston will feature perspectives on presbyopia from surgeons around the world Representatives will be on hand from ASCRS, the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), the Asian-Pacific Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (APSCRS), and the Latin American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ALACCSA/LASCRS). Surgeons from each group will share how they currently manage the growing number of presbyopia patients they treat.
Called the “Combined Symposia of Cataract and Refractive Societies—Presbyopia Frontiers,” the session will take place from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 11.
The Combined Symposia replaces the previous “Around the World” symposium held at the ASCRS meeting for the past few years.
“The Around the World symposium was based on the concept that we would explore different approaches to a clinical challenge, based on each region,” said Roger F. Steinert, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, University of California, Irvine, Calif. “We feel that we have done that several times, and it is time to move to new territory.” Dr. Steinert will be co-moderator for this month’s session.
“The [symposia] was established to provide a forum for the major regional societies in cataract and refractive surgery from the U.S.A., Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America to co-coordinate their educational activities at their respective annual meetings,” said Graham D. Barrett, F.R.A.C.O., president of the APACRS and an associate professor of the Lions Eye Institute and Sir Charles Gardner Hospital in Australia.
The goal is to hold a combined symposia at each society’s respective annual meeting, said I. Howard Fine, M.D., Eugene, Ore., who will moderate the ASCRS session. One such symposia already took place at the ESCRS 2009 meeting, he said. Once the subject for each symposia is selected, the respective societies will select subject-area leaders from their society who can give presentations, said William De La Peña, M.D., Los Angeles, who is president of the ALACCSA-R.

International presbyopia pearls

Physicians who attend the ASCRS Combined Symposia will experience a “United Nations type of program,” Dr. de la Peña said. This will include moderated sessions and discussions on topics ranging from patient selection, multifocal IOLs, monovision, accommodating IOLs, corneal lasers, and more. The moderators and presenters will also present and discuss challenging cases that detail regional perspectives in the case management of presbyopia.
For example, one presenter, Oliver Findl, M.D., consultant ophthalmic surgeon, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, and associate professor of ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria, will discuss patient selection for presbyopia treatment. As more presbyopia options become available, surgeons need to cautiously match the appropriate treatment to the right patient, Dr. Findl said.
The Combined Symposia will also offer a sneak peek of technology that may not have yet arrived around the world, particularly in the U.S. “In many cases, the technological developments that are being considered as solutions to addressing presbyopia may be unfamiliar to U.S. delegates. Presbyopic frontiers are changing rapidly, are often controversial, and will be covered comprehensively in the symposium,” Dr. Barrett said.
“There will be the global aspect and the hint of things to come in other countries,” Dr. Fine said. He hopes that surgeons who view technology not yet used in their country will better prepare for these advances once they see them at the symposium.
The session also exposes attendees to new ideas and technology in a non-commercial environment, Dr. Findl said.

Contact Information

Barrett: barrett@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
De La Peña: alaccsa@aol.com
Findl: Oliver@findl.at
Fine: hfine@finemd.com
Steinert: roger@drsteinert.com