The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Annual Symposium and Congress will convene later this month in San Diego. This meeting is extremely valuable to anterior segment surgeons because it consists of four days jam packed with information from international leaders in cataract, refractive, corneal and glaucoma surgery.
Navigating the meeting can be overwhelming because there are so many interesting and relevant symposia, courses, papers, films, skill transfer labs, and special sessions. I have reviewed the program and here is a preview of what to expect and what not to miss in San Diego.
Sessions
ASCRS Resident and Fellow Program — This program on the morning of Saturday, April 18 is a half day of talks on the business side of your practice. Topics include malpractice, coding and billing, communications skills, employment opportunities, contracts, and finances.
Sunday Summit — This exciting session on Sunday, April 19 features two sections with a lecture on technology in health care and a panel discussion covering controversies in anterior segment surgery including dropless drug delivery, IOL designs, sequential bilateral cataract surgery, and combined or staged cataract/glaucoma surgery.
Innovators Session — This session on Monday, April 20 looks at topics include custom IOLs, extended depth of focus lenses, cell therapies, and the Charles D. Kelman Innovator’s Lecture where Shigeru Kinoshita, MD, PhD, will discuss Novel Treatment Dimensions for Corneal Endothelial Dysfunction.
Hot Off the Press — This wrap-up session on Tuesday, April 21 highlights the best papers presented during the meeting.
Symposia
These sessions are moderated by one or more experts in the field and often feature video presentations of surgical cases. Favorites are the challenging cases and complication management symposia in cataract and keratorefractive surgery because these interactive sessions feature video case presentations.
Other topics to look for this year include surviving the modern healthcare environment, controversies in cataract and glaucoma, hot topics in cornea and external disease, ethics of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, corneal collagen cross-linking, and the future of ICD-10, PQRS, VBPM, and EHR.
Courses
Each year there is a wide range of excellent educational courses. The problem is deciding which ones to attend in such a limited time.
Physician courses that caught my eye when perusing the program cover diverse topics. Here are some of the most exciting options:
- Micro Invasive Glaucoma Surgery: Indications, Approaches, and Techniques
- Phaco Nightmares and Worst-Case Scenarios
- Management of Complicated Cases in Cataract Surgery
- Achieving Proper Centration and Alignment in Intraocular and Keratorefractive Surgery
- State-of-the-Art Keratoconus Treatment
- Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty: New Frontiers
- Innovative Uses of Adhesives in Anterior Segment Surgery
- Femtosecond Laser–Assisted Cataract Surgery: Exploring the Limits
- An Endothelial Keratoplasty for All Reasons: When and How to Perform DSAEK and DMEK
- Neurotoxins and Dermal Fillers/Collagen Stimulators: Update for Aesthetically Minded Ophthalmologist
- Neodymium: YAG Laser Vitreolysis: Role of Anterior Segment Surgeons
- Stretch, Snip, Sculpt, or Replace? Master Course in Complex Iris Repair and Prosthesis Cases
- Surgical Correction of Presbyopia Using Nonrefractive Hydrogel Corneal Inlay
- Multifocal IOLs: Standards, New Technologies, and Outlook in Future Developments in Europe and the U.S.
- Lords of the Rings and Hooks: New Challenges
- Corneal Topographic Analysis and Anterior Segment Imaging: Pearls for Your Clinical Practice
- Surgical Astigmatism Management for the Cataract Patient
- Intraocular Lens Exchange and Repositioning Techniques
- Iris Suturing Techniques
- Strategies for Successful Management of Patients Unhappy With Visual Results of Premium IOLs
- Small Incision Lenticule Extraction: World View
- International Video Symposium of Challenging Cases and Complication Management
- Video-Based Complex Cataract Surgery: Complications Reviewed—Learning From Our Mistakes
- Controversies in Refractive Surgery
- Solving the High Myopia Problem With Phakic IOLs
- Guidelines and Techniques for Managing Subluxated Cataracts
- Dropless Cataract Surgery: Transzonular Placement of Antibiotic and Steroid for Postoperative Prophylaxis After Cataract Surgery
- Perfect LASIK Flaps With Different Femtosecond Platforms
- Quantitative and Qualitative Keratoconus Diagnosis and Progression Criteria Based on Standard and Newly Available Imaging Modalities to Include Epithelial Mapping and Brillouin Spectroscopy
- Surgical Management of Cataract and Glaucoma: Special Emphasis on Pseudoexfoliation—How to Avoid, Treat, and Correct Problems
- Ocular Surface Point-of-Service Diagnostic Center
- Advanced IOL Power Calculations for the Cataract and Refractive Surgeon
- Best of the Best: Advanced New Technologies in Cataract Surgery
- Tackling White Cataracts: Conventional and Femtosecond Laser–Assisted Phacoemulsification
- Medicolegal Issues in Cataract and Refractive Surgery
- Refractive Surgery Nightmares and Worst Case Scenarios
- Use of Surgical Adhesives and Amniotic Membrane in Ocular Surgery
- Collagen Crosslinking: Evolving Indications and Technology, Applications, Results, and Complication Management
Exhibit Hall
In addition to all of the educational opportunities, another focal point of the annual meeting is the exhibit hall. My article next month will review the technology highlights from this meeting, but here is a preview of some of the products that have generated the most buzz.
- Corneal inlays including Kamra from AcuFocus and the Flexivue Microlens from Presbia and the Raindrop Near Vision Inlay from ReVision Optics
- New IOLs including the Light Adjustable Lens from Calhoun Vision, the TECNIS Symfony from AMO, and the IC-8 from AcuFocus
- Femtosecond lasers for cataract surgery with units available from Alcon, AMO, B+L, LensAR and Zeimer
- Corneal imaging and diagnostic systems such as iTrace from Tracey Technologies, Cassini from i-Optics and the AcuTarget HD Analyzer from Visiometrics
- Corneal collagen cross-linking with options from Avedro and Topcon
- Glaucoma microstents with new systems from Glaukos, Ivantis, Transcend Medical, and AqueSys
- And novel products such as ReSure Sealant from Ocular Therapeutix and Avenova from NovaBay
For those who will be attending the annual ASCRS meeting, I wish you safe travels and a wonderful experience. There are numerous excellent restaurants and attractions to visit in and around San Diego if time permits. For those who are unable to make it this year, I will review the highlights in my April article, so please look for this after the show wraps up.