EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/194331
108 EW MEETING REPORTER Reporting live from the XXX Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology and the XXXVII Brazilian Congress of Ophthalmology, Rio de Janeiro October 2013 Live reports from the XXX Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology and the XXXVII Brazilian Congress of Ophthalmology Wednesday, Aug. 7 A bout 8,000 attendees from 20 countries converged in Rio de Janeiro in early August for the opening of the XXX Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology and the XXXVII Brazilian Congress of Ophthalmology. The Congress boasted a full scientific schedule that consisted of 18 classrooms of symposia, panels, and special events and translated into three languages—English, Spanish, and Portuguese. "The main names of ophthalmology throughout the Americas will meet in Brazil," said Eduardo Dib, communications director of the congress. The 1st World Eye Bank Symposium, hosted by the Alliance World Eye Bank and the Pan-American Association of Eye Banks, took place simultaneously, organizers said. The worrisome eye banking situation in Latin American countries, including lack of public funding, adequately equipping surgical centers, low pay, and terrible working conditions, was tops on that agenda. Current situation in Latin America In one of the first scientific sessions of the day, Juan F. Batlle, MD, Dominican Republic, assessed the current situation of cataract surgery in Latin America in his American Journal of Ophthalmology lecture. "It is a study I have undertaken with a lot of literature research and confirmation from people I call experts in the prevention of blindness," he said. "My objective is to have the cataract backlog eliminated from Latin America." Severe visual impairment and blindness costs governments in Latin America between $11 and $28 billion per year, Dr. Batlle said. "The No. 1 cause of that is cataract," he said. Dr. Batlle compared using phacoemulsification vs. MSICS extracapsular extraction for poor South American countries. While phaco takes less time, is sutureless, and offers better astigmatic results, MSICS has a shorter learning curve, is less expensive, and has fewer complications, Dr. Batlle said. "MSICS has to remain in the curriculum," he said. "You can not stop doing MSICS." continued on page 110