ASCRS News: ASCRS Annual Meeting preview
Spring 2025

by Ellen Stodola 
Editorial Co-Director

Ronald Yeoh, MD, will deliver the Cornelius D. Binkhorst, MD, Lecture during the ASCRS Main Stage session on Friday, April 25, at the ASCRS Annual Meeting. The Binkhorst Lecture and Medal was established in 1975 in honor of IOL pioneer Cornelius D. Binkhorst, MD (1912–1995). The medal is awarded to an individual who has followed in Dr. Binkhorst’s footsteps with outstanding contributions to the understanding and practice of anterior segment surgery.

“I would say it’s the pinnacle of my career to be giving the Binkhorst Lecture,” Dr. Yeoh said, adding that it was a completely unexpected honor, and he’s thrilled by the opportunity.

If you look at Dr. Binkhorst’s history, he was a pioneer in IOLs, but he was also a surgeon, Dr. Yeoh said. This inspired Dr. Yeoh to feature a surgical topic in his lecture. The topics covered in past lectures are incredibly diverse, from biometry to dry eye, but there are very few on the surgical aspect of phaco. 

Dr. Yeoh’s lecture will focus on his 30-year study and interest in hydrodissection. While this might not be the most glamorous topic, he said it’s an incredibly important surgical step. “I’m going to discuss how my interest started and describe some of the nuances of the technique,” he said. 

“For me, what was interesting was to marry this technique that’s been around for 30 years with new technology.” He pointed to using intraoperative OCT, which he said was the first time he was able to image hydrodissection live. “Prior to this, we could only see the microscope down view; we never got the 3D view from the side.” This provided an interesting angle and helped in understanding the technology better.

Dr. Yeoh plans to wrap up his lecture by questioning if this is still relevant today, which he thinks it is. “It’s a basic technique; it only takes 10 seconds to do,” but he said there are many aspects that are glossed over. “If you look in the literature, there’s very little written about it.” He added that hydro techniques are similar in all populations; it’s not an instance where there are a lot of geographic differences, so it applies to all patients. 

About the physician

Ronald Yeoh, MD
Medical Director
Eye & Retina Surgeons
Singapore

Contact 

Yeoh: ersryeoh@gmail.com