Over 2,400 Gather in Buenos Aires for Global Ophthalmology Conference

 

Throughout the early 2000s, the World Federation of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons served as a valuable resource for networking and collaboration within the ophthalmology community. A global educational consortium of national associations dedicated to cataract and refractive surgery, the federation consisted of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, the Latin American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, and Asia/Pacific Intraocular Implant Association.

Through a series of meetings held around the world, the World Federation of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons facilitated new professional partnerships and global initiatives designed to advance the field of ophthalmology from a scientific standpoint and expand the quality and reach of ophthalmological care around the world.

In July 2000, the World Federation of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons convened in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the largest meeting of ophthalmologists ever to be held in the country. Presented at the Sheraton Hotel in partnership with the Argentine Society of Ophthalmology, the event welcomed over 2,400 ophthalmology researchers and practitioners for four days of scientific presentations and product exhibitions.

Ahead of the event, Dr. William De La Peña, an ophthalmologist who founded and formerly served as chairman of the federation, and his colleagues published a series of articles addressing the state of ophthalmology in various countries around the world. With a geographical focus encompassing Australia and Japan, the articles drew on the expertise of regional ophthalmologists to provide a preview of an expansive and globally diverse meeting of some of the greatest minds in the field.

Ophthalmologists Unveil New Laser Treatment for Presbyopia

Commonly referred to as “blurry near vision,” presbyopia is an eye condition experienced by many adults as they near age 40. While reading glasses typically provide relief from presbyopia, they can be an unattractive option to many patients. For older adults who don’t care for the appearance of reading glasses or the need to repeatedly put them on and take them off, an innovative new laser therapy may offer an alternative treatment option.

At the 120th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in October 2016, researchers from the Refractive and Cornea Foundation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, unveiled a technique known as the PrEsbyopic Allogenic Refractive Lenticule, or PEARL. During the procedure, an ophthalmic surgeon uses a femtosecond laser to make a small incision in the corneal tissue through which the patient may then extract a small corneal tissue disc known as a lenticule. In this way, surgeons can reshape a patient’s cornea to repair near vision using the patients’ own tissue and without compromising their distance vision.

PEARL bears similarities to existing treatments used to correct farsightedness and offers an alternative to the option of corneal inlays. While these small implantable optical devices can improve reading vision, in many cases patients’ eyes reject them. In contrast, the use of a patient’s own corneal tissue to correct vision limits the chance of inflammation and also promotes oxygen and nutrient flow.