The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons journeys to Barcelona for XXVII Congress

Key Points

The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) will hold its XXVII Congress from Saturday, Sept. 12, through Wednesday, Sept. 16, in this Spanish city located on the Mediterranean coast.

The World Congress of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (WCPOS) will take place on Saturday and Sunday in conjunction with the ESCRS Congress. A joint ESCRS/WCPOS symposium will be held on Saturday.

Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain, is best known to many people in recent years as the host city for the 1992 Summer Olympics. The area typically has a mild climate. The average daily high temperature in Barcelona in September is 78° F; the average low is 62° F.

Main symposia

The main symposia will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.

On Sunday, the topic is "Managing Subluxated Lenses." Scheduled presentations include surgical correction of ectopia lentis, repositioning of displaced IOLs, and scleral suturing techniques.

Monday's theme is cataract and macular disease. Topics include management of post-surgical macular edema, anti-VEGF therapy, combined cataract and vitreoretinal surgery, and cataract surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

Tuesday will bring a focus on cross-linking. Speakers will address physiological and therapeutic cross-linking, the biomechanics of the crossed-linked cornea, and cross-linking in eyes with intracorneal segments, corneal melting disorders, keratoconus, or iatrogenic ectasia.

On Wednesday, the topic will be surgical solutions for high refractive errors. Speakers will address myopia from a retinal point of view, LASIK for high myopia, phakic IOLs for high ametropia, combined refractive surgery, and genetics and high myopia.

Clinical research

The clinical research symposia will be held Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Planned highlights include presentations on wound-healing aspects of contemporary corneal surgery, accommodative IOLs, the impact of refractive surgery on corneal structure, surgical control of astigmatism, and ocular light scattering.

Workshop on visual optics

This workshop will be held Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. In Part I, presentations will include epidemiology of the optical properties of the eye and retinal image quality. Part II will focus on visual behavior (visual function). Speakers will address topics such as visual function assessment using adaptive optics and modeling visual function. Part III, after lunch, will focus on techniques for imaging the eye.

Practice development workshops

A new offering this year are practice development workshops. A full-day course, One Day Masterclass For Ophthalmological Entrepreneurs, given by Keith Willey, associate professor, London Business School, will be held Saturday for a fee.

Free workshops, with limited attendance space, will be held two additional days. On Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m., the topic will be "Marketing Your Practice." On Monday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., it will be "Managing Your Practice."

Other program highlights