Eyeworld

EW MEETING REPORTER 138 March 2017 Reporting from the All India Ophthalmological Society, February 16–19, 2017, Jaipur, India Reporting from the All India Ophthalmological Society, February 16–19, 2017, Jaipur, India Reporting from the 75th Annual Conference Ophthalmological Society, Jaipur W ith an expansive scientific program featuring 308 sessions spread over 4 days, the All India Oph- thalmological Society's scientific committee called the society's 75th Annual Conference "the Biggest Ophthalmic Extravaganza of Indian Ophthalmology." In addition to a wide array of instructional courses, the program began with a session honoring the society's "internation- al heroes" and the inauguration ceremonies. This year is a momentous one in the annals of the society, according to K.S. Santhan Gopal, MD, AIOS incoming president, marking as it does AIOS's platinum jubilee. According to Lalit Verma, MD, chairman of the Scientific Commit- tee, AIOS, the scientific committee created a "scientific bouquet" of a program, focused on the needs of the comprehensive ophthalmologist while "not forgetting the recent advances in various specialties." The 75th Annual Conference of the All India Ophthalmological Society ran from February 16 to 19, 2017, at the Jaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre, Jaipur, India. SICS to phaco, step by step In India, as well as in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, small-inci- sion cataract surgery (SICS) is often discussed as more than just a basic skill in cataract surgery. Rather, it is considered a valuable, even essential procedure in cataract surgery prac- tice—a simple, cost-effective proce- dure that provides various advan- tages particularly for countries that continue to suffer not only from mass cataract blindness but from a number of economic and logistic challenges as well. Nevertheless, phacoemulsifi- cation provides results SICS does not—not least among them, accord- ing to Debasish Bhattacharya, MD, Kolkata, India, the "wow factor" of patients feeling they had not been operated at just 1 day postop. Dr. Bhattacharya chaired a session discussing "Converting from Manual SICS to Phaco: Step- by-step." In the session, speakers focused on the nuclear management of these cases, as this is at the heart of the transition from manual SICS to phaco. Dr. Bhattacharya began the session with a discussion of phaco basics. When converting to phaco, he said, surgeons first need access to a good microscope, a predictable pha- co machine, and regular surgeries. "If we cannot see, we cannot do," he said. He recommended that surgeons perform two to three surgeries, 2 to 3 days a week to keep their skills on form. Dr. Bhattacharya also discussed phaco dynamics—defining irriga- tion, aspiration, and vacuum—as well as different forms of phaco energy delivery—continuous, micro- pulse, and torsional. These basics, he said, are most essential for learning phacoemulsi- fication. Dr. Bhattacharya went on to emphasize the importance of under- going wetlab training. Among other advantages, Dr. Bhattacharya em- phasized how wetlabs allow cataract surgeons in training to make all the mistakes without costing anyone in the learning process.

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