The most recent incarnation of the Ophthalmology Updates! series was held in Sydney’s Westin Hotel and the format of two lectures by the same presenter – the first regarding a common condition, the second a condition at the ‘frontier’ of practice – followed by some relevant cases studies, was very well received.Established last year, the conference is designed to provide a forum for ophthalmologists to revisit common subspeciality topics and also provide th with insight into the most recent developments in the field. The audience consisted of ophthalmologists, ophthalmology registrars, medical practitioners contplating a career in ophthalmology, and some medical students acting as conference staff. More than 150 delegates attended and the faculty presenting the updates read like a who’s who of NSW ophthalmology.
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Oculoplastics: Assessing and managing the watery eye According to Associate Professor Raf Ghabrial, determining whether a case is simple lacrimation or epiphora is the first thing that needs to be established when dealing with a watery eye. “Is your eye irritated or sore, or is it just like it is ‘crying’?” Obvious sources, like allergies or physiological causes need to be eliminated first. Read more. Managent of the uveitic cataract and ocular toxoplasmosis Professor Peter McCluskey, Chair of Ophthalmology at Sydney Medical School says that given that surgery is a pro-inflammatory event, the need for cataract surgery in an individual suffering from inflammation of the uvea – a relatively common requirent – means that managent is complex. Such managent needs to be tailored to the individual and needs to follow a surgical plan. Read more. Endophthalmitis: avoiding post-surgical complications The devastating condition usually appears as a post-surgical complication in between 0.08–0.68% of cases. Pain, redness, swelling, discharge, and loss of function are the principal signs. A differential diagnosis is required to separate toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) and uveitis and sequelae from retained crystalline lens material. Read more. Ocular oncology: what not to miss Conway’s three main offerings were: suspicious choroidal naevi, suspicious iris naevi, and primary acquired melanosis. His reasoning was that those lesions carry a real risk of developing into melanomas, which have a five-year survival rate of only 50%, and that early diagnosis and treatment enhance patient survival chances and preservation of vision. Read more. IOL Formulae explained Perhaps because of the almost random outcome of final Rxs achieved with the very early IOLs pioneered by English ophthalmologist Sir Harold Ridley, IOL calculations had to wait for the resurgence in interest in IOLs in the late 1960s. Painter attributed the first calculations using Gaussian optics to the late Professor Svyatoslav Fyodorov of the USSR in 1967, who used English Rayner IOLs before commissioning local IOL manufacture. Read more. |
