Ophthalmology Updates! is a two-day conference bringing together the brightest minds from each ophthalmic subspecialty to update attendees on their field. It is returning in August 2023 with ABC’s Dr Norman Swan as the special guest speaker.
Brainchild of Sydney retinal ophthalmologist Professor Adrian Fung, the Ophthalmology Updates! Conference was born out of the need that all ophthalmologists require constant upskilling in ophthalmic subspecialty topics.
Started in 2016, it is returning as a stand-alone event in August 2023, following a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, and was combined with RANZCO’s NSW conference in 2022.
“I founded the concept of Ophthalmology Updates! because I realised, when I came out of fellowship, I knew a lot about my subspecialty, but I was losing touch with other subspecialties, so it was a good way to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in all subspecialties,” Fung says.
Taking place on 26-27 August at Fullerton Hotel in Sydney, the event is designed for general ophthalmologists who want to consolidate their knowledge and learn about new advances in a range of subspecialties; for subspecialty ophthalmologists who want a refresher on other subspecialties; and for registrars preparing for RANZCO examinations.
Prof Adrian Fung.
“We dedicate a lot of time to discussion and Q&A. We want all attendees to be able to ask questions. Sometimes the discussion might go on a tangent, but that’s fine.”
Invited speakers prepare a three-part presentation, each lasting 15 minutes, on a common subspecialty condition, a ‘frontier’ topic on a topical subject (but not in trials or experimental), and a case-based discussion.
“Common conditions are not necessarily covered a lot in conferences because they’re assumed knowledge but as we progress in our careers, the field can move on, frontier topics change from year-to-year depending on what is topical in that year,” Fung says.
“We try to keep it clinically applicable for current ophthalmologists, so even though there might be treatments in the pipeline, we tend to focus on therapeutics – or imaging or diagnostics – which are TGA-approved and PBS-listed because we want it to be something that is practical and useful to the clinician.”
Fung says it was timely to invite Dr Norman Swan, a multi-award winning producer, broadcaster and investigative journalist, as guest speaker this year to discuss medicine and the media.
“There has been a lot in the media about Medicare fraud, ongoing issues regarding the Medicare rebate, and issues about unprofessional practice of doctors. I was interested in exploring that idea, and Dr Swan is both a doctor and well known in the media, getting his understanding of how these stories make it into the media, who controls that narrative, and what are the politics behind it.”
Fung expects about 200 to 250 delegates to attend, which he says is in keeping with the conference’s informal atmosphere.
“One of the main focuses of the conference is we dedicate a lot of time to discussion and Q&A,” he says.
“We want all attendees to be able to ask questions. Sometimes the discussion might go on a tangent, but that’s fine. We want to ensure there is enough time to have a discussion, either with the speaker or the chair, or as a group. Keeping attendance between 200-250 in the Heritage Ballroom at the Fullerton is very conducive to discussion and doesn’t feel intimidating to anybody to ask a question.”
The event also includes a dinner, which will this year be held at Bennelong Restaurant at Sydney Opera House, on Saturday 26 August.
The conference is approved for 12 Level 1 RANZCO and 10 Orthoptic Australia CPD points.
Oculoplastics, Sat 26 Aug – Professor Dinesh Selva Professor Selva was appointed to the foundation chair of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Adelaide in 2004. He is Chairman of the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Adelaide and has published over 600 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. In his lecture on oculoplastics, he will discuss surgical video vignettes and endoscopic orbital surgery.
Toxoplasmosis & Leadership, Sat 26 Aug – Professor Justine Smith Professor Smith is an ophthalmologist-scientist, co-appointed as Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor at Flinders University and Senior Consultant at Flinders Medical Centre. She will provide a toxoplasmosis update, as well as discuss medical journal publishing in 2023 and share what she learnt during her time as president and executive vice president of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
Medical Retina, Sat 26 Aug – Professor Robyn Guymer Deputy director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia and a senior retinal specialist at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Professor Guymer will be discussing emerging treatments for neovascular AMD and geographic atrophy. She is currently investigating new strategies for treating early stages of AMD and is working to identify novel imaging and functional biomarkers and surrogate endpoints to improve the feasibility of conducting early intervention trials.
Glaucoma, Sat 26 Aug – Dr Nathan Kerr Integrating Alcon’s Hydrus microstent into clinical practice for primary open-angle glaucoma, plus new approaches to the subconjunctival space will be addressed in Dr Kerr’s presentation. Having completed a prestigious glaucoma fellowship at Moorfields Eye Hospital, he serves as a glaucoma section editor for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology and is a principal investigator in glaucoma at the Centre for Eye Research Australia.
Cataract, Sat 26 Aug – Associate Professor Michael Lawless A/Prof Lawless was the first ophthalmologist in Australia and New Zealand to perform SMILE Pro and one of the first in the world to perform LASIK using the ZEISS Visumax 800 laser system. His lecture will provide 10 pointers that surgeons can implement to make them better cataract and refractive surgeons, as well as discuss the latest IOL technologies and their role in practice.
Medicine & The Media, Sat 26 Aug – Dr Norman Swan An expert on medicine and the media, special guest speaker Dr Norman Swan co-hosts ABC Radio National’s Health Report and co-hosted Coronacast, a podcast on coronavirus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Swan is also a reporter and commentator on ABC’s 7.30, Midday, News Breakfast and Four Corners. He is a past winner of the Gold Walkley and has won other Walkleys including one with his Coronacast colleagues in 2020.
Neuro-Ophthalmology, Sun 27 Aug – Professor Celia Chen Professor Chen is a clinical professor with University of South Australia and consultant neuro-ophthalmologist/clinician-scientist at Flinders University. She is the current president of the Neuro-Ophthalmic Society of Australia. Chen’s lecture will focus on arterial occlusions to the eye, from retinal emboli to ocular ischaemic syndrome. She will also address what’s new in idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
Oculoplastics, Sat 26 Aug – Professor Dinesh Selva
Toxoplasmosis & Leadership, Sat 26 Aug – Professor Justine Smith
Medical Retina, Sat 26 Aug – Professor Robyn Guymer
Glaucoma, Sat 26 Aug – Dr Nathan Kerr
Cataract, Sat 26 Aug – Associate Professor Michael Lawless
Medicine & The Media, Sat 26 Aug – Dr Norman Swan
Neuro-Ophthalmology, Sun 27 Aug – Professor Celia Chen
