ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
ASCRS News
March 2022
Eric Donnenfeld, MD, EyeWorld chief medical editor, spoke to ASCRS Program Committee Chair Edward Holland, MD, about the 2022 ASCRS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Donnenfeld: Edward Holland has been the Program Committee chair for the world’s greatest anterior segment meeting, the ASCRS Annual Meeting, for the last 9 years. I think this is the number one meeting for any anterior segment surgeon who wants to learn about what’s new and exciting in the anterior segment, as well as new technologies that are on the way.
We had a very successful meeting last year in Las Vegas. What do you think about the meeting this year in Washington, D.C.?
Dr. Holland: We’re excited for this meeting because it’s our first full meeting coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we expect great attendance. I think a lot of clinicians were reluctant to attend live meetings last year, but I think most ophthalmologists now feel comfortable, and we’re looking forward to a great meeting.
The Program Committee has put together a spectacular lineup that’s going to appeal to anyone who is involved in anterior segment surgery. Whether you’re a cataract, refractive, cornea, or glaucoma surgeon, this is the meeting to attend.
Dr. Donnenfeld: Some of us have been attending virtual meetings for the last 2 years, and these meetings are exciting, but what’s the big difference between going to a live, in-person meeting, like the ASCRS Annual Meeting, compared to the virtual meetings that many of us have been attending?
Dr. Holland: It’s amazing how good these virtual meetings have been, but they don’t replace a live meeting where there are many activities happening and many choices, whether it’s going to a paper session, going to the Exhibit Hall to see new products from industry, or participating in a skills transfer lab. What you can’t get at a virtual meeting is walking up to one of your colleagues or a famous cataract or refractive surgeon and picking their brain one on one. The camaraderie is the thing that I think we all miss and enjoy.
Dr. Donnenfeld: I think there’s nothing that replaces a live meeting and the excitement of being there with people. For me, the ASCRS Annual Meeting is the one meeting I never want to miss because it’s everything I like about ophthalmology. I find myself coming away from this meeting with more excitement about being an ophthalmologist. It ignites the fire for going back to my practice and making patient care better.
Tell me about some of the named lectures that we’ll have this year.
Dr. Holland: Each day, we have a General Session. On Saturday, we have the Opening General Session with an interview with the outgoing and the incoming ASCRS presidents. We have anchored that General Session with one of our highest awards, the Binkhorst Award, and that honor this year is being given to Rosa Braga-Mele, MD. She has been a tremendous teacher of cataract surgery and a very deserving winner of the Binkhorst Award.
On Sunday, the Sunday General Session is anchored by the Lindstrom Symposium. This program features talks on the key areas that Richard Lindstrom, MD, is well known for—cataract, cornea, refractive, glaucoma, as well as industry. This year the Lindstrom Lecture will be given by Warren Hill, MD, who has been an asset to all of ophthalmology for his incredible work in IOL calculations.
On Monday, the Innovators General Session features five innovative presentations. These are talks on devices or pharmaceuticals that are in clinical trials but not yet approved, giving us a look at something that is coming down the line that may potentially help patients. Completing this session is the Charles D. Kelman, MD, Innovator’s Lecture given by Francis Price Jr., MD. Dr. Price is an internationally renowned corneal surgeon who has done tremendous work in clinical trials and advancing corneal surgery.
Closing the meeting on Tuesday is the Best of ASCRS General Session, which will highlight some of the most important and interesting papers presented at the meeting from among the Best Paper of Session winners.
Dr. Donnenfeld: Anything else special planned that we should be excited about?
Dr. Holland: Before the official ASCRS Annual Meeting is the Eyecelerator meeting, which is an interesting mix of clinicians, researchers, and industry talking about innovation.
The Annual Meeting kicks off on Friday with Subspecialty Day—Cornea Day, Refractive Day, and Glaucoma Day. Attendees can float among the three programs, giving an opportunity to get a big dose of what specialty best interest them.
On Friday evening, we’re holding the ASCRS ASOA Party for a Purpose, and donations will support the ASCRS Foundation, which is a very worthy cause.
We will have a couple of other great speakers. At the Opening General Session, keynote speaker Chris Wallace, the famous American broadcast journalist, will join us. On Sunday, we have an interesting speaker, ophthalmologist William Flanary, MD, who might be better known as Dr. Glaucomflecken, who has an incredible Tik Tok following.
Dr. Donnenfeld: Washington, D.C., is such an exciting city to visit. It is breathtaking, and I love going to the monuments.
Ed, you’ve done an amazing job of organizing this meeting for 9 years. On behalf of all of ophthalmology, I want to thank you for the incredible amount of effort that you have put into making this meeting great.
Dr. Holland: Thank you for those comments but really the credit goes to the ASCRS staff, who work so hard to make this meeting as good as it is, and to the Program Committee. In addition, we have so many committed people on our Clinical Committees who work to build the program. It’s a team effort.
