EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/194331
52 EW AAO PREVIEW October 2013 November 16-19, 2013 Cornea Subspecialty Day back at AAO T by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer his year's Cornea Subspecialty Day at AAO, titled, "Through the Looking Glass – Where We Are, Where We're Headed," aims to give participants a look at the past, present, and future of the field. Program directors Kathryn A. Colby, MD, PhD, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston; Elmer Y. Tu, MD, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago; and William Barry Lee, MD, Eye Consultants of Atlanta, and co-medical director, Georgia Eye Bank, expect an impressive program with a variety of speakers and interesting topics. Cornea Subspecialty Day, which will take place on Saturday, November 16, aims to give attendees an updated and comprehensive review of anterior segment topics by utilizing a number of national and international faculty, Dr. Lee said. The hope is that the attendees "can apply many of the lessons learned from this educational day to their everyday practices for prevention of corneal blindness." "Cornea Subspecialty Day will be filled with a diverse list of anterior segment pearls from experts throughout the world," Dr. Lee said. "We have an action-packed day of lectures including case studies, reviews, and groundbreaking research in cornea, external diseases, and refractive surgery." "The goal of Cornea Subspecialty Day is to give participants a taste of where the field was in the past, where it is now, and where it's going to be in 10 years," Dr. Colby said. Each session will feature speakers addressing the future of different diseases and treatments. Dr. Tu said that one of the main goals of the day is "not only to introduce drugs and practical new techniques but also how best to use them as described by the experts that developed them." This year's Cornea Subspecialty Day will be divided into six sessions, three in the morning and three in the afternoon. The first session will explore medical treatment of corneal diseases. That will be followed by a look at infectious diseases of the cornea and some possible management strategies. The final morning session will focus on Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy and will include medical and surgical treatments for the condition. Following a break for lunch, the first afternoon session will feature an update on corneal surgery, including pearls for traditional penetrating keratoplasty, anterior lamellar keratoplasty, endothelial keratoplasty, and artificial corneal transplantation. The second afternoon session will discuss the hot topic of corneal crosslinking, where discussions on epithelium-on and epithelium-off techniques will take place. The final session of the day will be titled "Cornea Grand Rounds" and will feature short case presentations of challenging medical and surgical cases of the anterior segment. Dr. Colby said this year's format is a bit different from previous years. Among the changes are an entire session focused on a single topic, Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy. She said there is a lot currently going on with the topic, especially with surgery and potential medical treatments. "The other thing that's new that will be interesting and help keep people's attention at the end of the day is the "Cornea Grand Rounds" where we'll have short, focused case presentations by people who we've chosen for their excellent speaking abilities," Dr. Colby said. Presenters will discuss challenging cases from their practices, followed by an interactive group discussion with the presenters and program directors. "This year's program is an exciting one," Dr. Tu said. "The highlight will be a keynote lecture by Claes Dohlman, MD, on the past, present, and future of keratoprosthesis, a life's work, which has brought the gift of sight to so many people around the world." Other topics will look at the value of testing and sur- gical prophylaxis for MRSA, epithelial-on vs. epithelial-off collagen crosslinking, and the importance of the availability of compounded drugs over commercially available medications. The schedule and topics for Cornea Subspecialty Day are designed to appeal to cornea specialists as well as general ophthalmologists. "We have tried to create a vast overview of topics for the comprehensive ophthalmologist to learn a variety of anterior segment pearls from the meeting while also providing some focused talks in each session to stimulate the curiosity and interest of the pure cornea subspecialist," Dr. Lee said. "This Cornea Subspecialty Day will provide the same great content and knowledge that has been characteristic of all the previous Subspecialty Days, but this will without question be a more dynamic program than in past years," Dr. Tu said. "We believe that we have enlisted the very best minds and most engaging speakers and given them challenging topics for which they can provide nuances and preferences that can only be gained through their research and experience." EW Contact information Colby: kathryn_colby@meei.harvard.edu Lee: wblee@mac.com Tu: etu@uic.edu New Orleans dining Brennan's 417 Royal St. 504-525-9711 www.brennansneworleans.com Cuisine: French and Creole Commander's Palace 1403 Washington Ave. 504-899-8221 www.commanderspalace.com Cuisine: Modern New Orleans Galatoire's 209 Bourbon St. 504-525-2021 www.galatoires.com Cuisine: Traditional Louisiana Clancy's 6100 Annunciation St. 504-895-1111 www.clancysneworleans.com Cuisine: Traditional Louisiana Coquette 2800 Magazine St. 504-265-0421 www.coquette-nola.com Cuisine: Southern Cochon 930 Tchoupitoulas St. 504-588-2123 www.cochonrestaurant.com Cuisine: Traditional Louisiana Domenica 123 Baronne St. 504-648-6020 domenicarestaurant.com Cuisine: Italian Herbsaint 701 St. Charles Ave. 504-524-4114 www.herbsaint.com Cuisine: French and Italian inspired Southern La Petite Grocery 4238 Magazine St. 504-891-3377 www.lapetitegrocery.com Cuisine: Traditional New Orleans Lilette 3637 Magazine St. 504-895-1636 www.liletterestaurant.com Cuisine: French and Italian inspired Restaurant August 301 Tchoupitoulas St. 504-299-9777 www.restaurantaugust.com Cuisine: Contemporary French Source: NewOrleansOnline.com