Eyeworld

20 March 2018 EW NEWS & OPINION by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer he said. "I also joined Dr. Ribeiro and Dr. Ana Souza e Silva in the operating room, where I watched them perform cataract surgery." During his time in Lisbon, Dr. Tsui was able to observe cataract surger- ies where they implanted standard as well as premium lenses. "I also watched them perform anti-VEGF intravitreal injections for patients with macular edema," he said. Dr. Tsui said that the ASCRS/ ESCRS Young Physician Exchange Program was a great way for him to attend the ESCRS meeting and to learn about the clinical practice in Europe. "Being able to meet Euro- pean ophthalmologists emphasized the importance of collaboration and sharing of ideas and how this can continue to advance the field of ophthalmology," he said. "Thank you to ASCRS and ESCRS for the opportunity to participate in this program." After the ESCRS meeting, Dr. Bakhtiary also had a chance to spend time observing in the OR. "After the ESCRS meeting, I went to Coimbra, a beautiful city about 2 hours north of Lisbon," he said. "I went to [Coimbra Hospital and University Centre], which has the biggest ophthalmology residency program in Portugal." During his time in Portugal, Dr. Bakhtiary worked with cornea specialist Dr. Andreia Rosa. "We started in the OR with a few cataract surgeries, almost the same as we per- form in the U.S." He added that he saw two cases of phakic IOLs using the Artiflex (Ophtec, Groningen, the Netherlands) and observed collagen crosslinking. "Seeing different surgeons and [a different] environment is a great opportunity to learn," Dr. Bakhtiary said. One interesting difference in technique he noted was that when performing a temporal CCI phaco surgery, the surgeon sat superiorly, while in the U.S., this is usually done temporally. He added that he liked the technique of enclavation of the Artiflex. "I want to thank ASCRS for giving me this great opportunity," Dr. Bakhtiary said. EW Contact information Bakhtiary: Bakhtiary@jsei.ucla.edu Tsui: edmund.tsui@nyumc.org Dr. Bakhtiary said that he had not previously attended the ESCRS meeting, although he had been to the ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress in the past. "ESCRS is an important meet- ing in Europe with world-renowned clinicians and scientists," he said. "There are many innovative and pioneer eye surgeons in Europe." Dr. Bakhtiary said that he was particularly looked forward to attending sessions on endothelial keratoplasty, corneal collagen cross- linking, corneal epithelial mapping, and refractive surgery. He was able to attend many great presentations, noting a talk on DSAEK/DMEK, a presentation on confocal cornea scan, and a refractive surgery panel and discussion. Dr. Bakhtiary said he also enjoyed the city. "Lisbon is a great city, with nice people and a good climate." Observing physicians after the meeting Following the ESCRS meeting, Dr. Tsui remained in Lisbon and went to Hospital Da Luz for his clinical and surgical observations. "I joined Dr. Bernardo Feijóo and Dr. Filomena Ribeiro in their clinics to observe how they evaluated patients and to discuss lens options with them," the ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress last year and learned a lot, so I was excited for this opportunity to go to ESCRS," he said. "I was most excited to attend the talks about the different IOLs and procedures that are not yet available in the United States." Some of these lenses may become available in the U.S. in the near future, so it was exciting to see how they were already being utilized, he said. Dr. Tsui said he was looking forward to the opening ceremony and the Binkhorst Medal Lecture by Boris Malyugin, MD, PhD. He was also looking forward to learning more about multifocal and extend- ed depth of focus IOLs. "Learning about the visual outcomes from our European colleagues provides us with a sense of what may be avail- able soon in the U.S.," he said. "One of the highlights of the trip included meeting the ESCRS young ophthalmologists who had previously participated in the ex- change program," he said. "It was great to hear about their experiences when they traveled to the United States in the previous year." He added that it was also interesting to learn about the ophthalmology residency fellowship training system in Portugal and other countries. ASCRS sponsored two surgeons at the XXXV Congress of the ESCRS in Lisbon, Portugal T he ASCRS/ESCRS Young Physician Exchange Pro- gram is a joint program between the two societies to further relations between the international and domestic soci- eties, expose the physicians to each other's meetings, and observe clini- cal practices in other countries. The selected young physicians attend the other society's meeting, and following the meeting they travel to the host physician's clinical practice where they spend time observing. During the XXXV Congress of the ESCRS in Lisbon, Portugal, ASCRS sponsored Edmund Tsui, MD, New York, and Pejman Bakhtiary, MD, Los Angeles, who were then hosted by ESCRS member physicians. Dr. Tsui and Dr. Bakhtiary shared their experiences attending the ESCRS meeting and observing abroad. Experiences at the meeting Dr. Tsui said that not only was this his first time attending the ESCRS meeting, but it was also his first trip to Europe. "I had attended Surgeons participate in ASCRS/ESCRS Young Physician Exchange Program David Spalton, MD, Dr. Ribeiro, Dr. Tsui, and Joaquim Murta, MD, attend the XXXV Congress of the ESCRS in Lisbon. Source: Edmund Tsui, MD

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)