Eyeworld

Reporting from the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress 2016, March 24–27, Taipei, Taiwan EW MEETING REPORTER 170 adaptation of the corneal wound, which then leads to posterior wound gape and slippage of the corneal lamellae, causing higher SIA. The SIA was found to be greatest with pa- tients with an oblique astigmatism, but it stabilized later, Dr. Chang said. In conclusion, she said that wid- er incision, higher preoperative cor- neal astigmatism, and older age were all factors found to lead to greater SIA. There was a negative correlation with anterior chamber depth and axial length. Dr. Chang advised to adjust the flattening component of SIA input for toric IOL calculations for each patient as needed, espe- cially when using a corneal incision greater than 2.2 mm. The size of an incision, incision location, and integrity of an incision could all eventually affect SIA, said Viraj Vasavada, MD, Ahmedabad, India. She discussed cataract inci- sional analysis and use of the phaco incision to reduce astigmatism. Dr. Vasavada detailed several clinical trials, with 1 specifically compar- ing clear corneal incisions of 2.2 mm, 2.4 mm, and 2.8 mm. When examining results, it was found that reducing the incision sizes in a linear fashion does not imply an astigmatically neutral incision. A similar study compared 1.8 m vs. 2.2 mm incision systems. Surgeons have to match the incision size with appropriate phaco tips, sleeves, and help make a successful congress: the delegates, the speakers, industry partnerships, the hosts/organizers, and the city. Surgically induced astigmatism Shu-Wen Chang, MD, Taipei, Tai- wan, focused her presentation on surgically induced astigmatism (SIA). There have been a number of major milestones in cataract surgery in per- fecting surgical outcomes, she said. These include the shift to smaller in- cisions to decrease the magnitude of SIA and corneal aberrations, correc- tion of preexisting corneal astigma- tism either during or after surgery, presbyopia- and astigmatism-cor- recting IOLs, and femtosecond laser cataract surgery. There are a number of factors contributing to greater SIA following phacoemulsification, such as large wound size, incision location, preop- erative astigmatism, age, corneal properties, ocular features, and the meridian of corneal astigmatism. Dr. Chang spoke about a retrospective chart review of 605 eyes from 2006– 2011. These were phaco procedures with superior limbal incision with a steel blade by a single surgeon. Dr. Chang said that a greater SIA was found in older corneas. The cornea becomes increasingly stiffer with age, she said. There was also greater SIA in eyes with lower IOP because lower IOP leads to less Hugh Taylor, MD, Melbourne, Australia, spoke about prevention of blindness. Worldwide, there are 223 million people who are visually impaired, he said, and 32 million of those people are blind. Vision loss will increase, especially in devel- oping countries, with population growth and aging, Dr. Taylor said. There are continuing problems, like cataracts and refractive error, and other emerging problems, like AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. So what can ophthalmology do? Dr. Taylor said the need for eyecare will increase with these continuing and emerging problems. However, he noted that there are only 205,000 ophthalmologists around the world. The need to train more ophthal- mologists is an obvious necessity, he said. There is also a need to train eyecare teams to help meet commu- nity needs and to integrate com- prehensive eyecare into healthcare systems. Those who are trained need infrastructure, support, and continu- ing professional development, he said. Editors' note: Dr. Taylor has no related financial interests. Opening ceremony The APAO meeting officially kicked off with its opening ceremony. The ceremony featured a musical perfor- mance by a Taiwanese percussion group, as well as a singing perfor- mance. Dr. Chen Chien-jen, the vice president-elect of Taiwan, was also in attendance as a special guest at the ceremony. Lin-Chung Woung, MD, PhD, Taipei, Taiwan, the 2016 Congress president and president of the Oph- thalmological Society of Chinese Taipei, spoke to attendees, welcom- ing them to Taipei, which has not hosted APAO since 2001. Dr. Woung recommended that attendees not only take advantage of the great opportunities that the scientific program has to offer but also take advantage of everything the island of Taiwan has to offer. Dennis Lam, MD, Hong Kong, president of APAO and the 2016 Scientific Program Committee Chair, highlighted 5 components that April 2016 View videos from APAO 2016: EWrePlay.org Shigeru Kinoshita, MD, PhD, discusses research using cultured endothelial cells for the treatment of bullous keratopathy.

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