The sun has set on another day of cataract, refractive and anterior segment knowledge here at ASCRS 2024 in Boston, and Day Two is officially in the books. If yesterday felt like a warm-up for those in attendance at Subspecialty Day and Day One’s other educational offerings, Day Two saw this year’s ASCRS Annual Meeting truly hit its stride.
Though there was a distinct lack of the freak earthquakes and snowstorms of the previous two days, there was plenty of ophthalmic action to more than make up for it. Here’s a breakdown of Day Two’s smorgasbord of over 100 academic sessions, skills transfer labs, instructional courses and more.
Morning sessions and a gem on the main stage
Early birds were treated to a round of industry symposia from Rayner, Epsilon USA and Alcon scattered across Meeting Room Level 2 bright and early in the morning.
Despite the Day One Party for a Purpose festivities going into the wee hours of the morning, the crowds turned out to watch ASCRS luminaries like Drs. Cathleen McCabe, Elizabeth Yeu, John Hovanesian, Eric Donnenfeld and more give their tips, tricks and wisdom on topics from dropless cataract surgery (Rayner) to managing sticky situations (Epsilon USA).
The dawn patrol crew broke out of these sessions to join a round of Instructional Courses, and by this point in the morning, the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center was humming with activity. Dr. Uday Devgan’s Best of the Cataract Coach was particularly well-attended as he broke down segments from his wildly popular “Cataract Coach” YouTube channel.
After coffee, it was time for the first Main Stage event of the day—a wide-ranging multi-pronged affair to cap off a busy morning. Dr. Richard Packard (United Kingdom) was among the luminaries in attendance for the three mini-sessions on offer.
In the first, Dr. Nicole Fram joined professional poker player, author and critical thinking guru Annie Duke in a conversation centered around the latter’s book, Quit: Knowing When to Walk Away. This intimate back-and-forth featured discussion on decision-making concepts like kill criteria and opportunity cost, with Dr. Fram relating them to the life-changing calls ophthalmologists must make every day.
The next session featured the legendary Dr. Malvina Eydelman moderating a roundtable discussion entitled X-Factor: Women Leading By Example. All past female ASCRS presidents were on hand to celebrate the progress of women in ophthalmology and share their personal stories of triumph and perseverance: Drs. Elizabeth Yeu, Bonnie Henderson, Marguerite McDonald and Priscilla Arnold.
Advice from American Ophthalmology’s Superwomen
Dr. Malvina Eydelman: “I would like to urge all of the young women entering ophthalmology today to believe in yourself, your knowledge and your competency. When you make a decision, make it clearly and confidently. Don’t underestimate the power you have.”
Dr. Marguerite McDonald: “Speak up. People aren’t mind readers. If you want a certain position or you’d like to be on a committee or give a talk or whatever it is, you have to speak up and tell people.”
Dr. Priscilla Arnold: “Seek that responsibility, seek that commitment. But then when you’re off of your position of responsibility, do the work.“
Dr. Bonnie Henderson: “When you’re training for a goal, it’s a rule of thirds. A third of the time, you’re supposed to feel pretty good. A third of the time, you’re supposed to feel okay. And a third time, you’re supposed to feel crappy. We all go through life, and it’s hard. It’s wisdom to know that it’s okay to feel crummy.”
Dr. Elizabeth Yeu: “I think it’s very important that we each set one-year, five-year, ten-year goals, and that those goals should be very focused and intentional. We have to put in those minutes that turn into the hours it takes to become experts. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
The final main stage session was the Binkhorst Lecture, delivered by awardee Dr. Mitchell Weikert. The characteristically candid and entertaining Dr. Weikert spoke on modern IOL calculations. But when it came to delivering the goods, Dr. Weikert was all business (mostly).
“Break out your phones, this is the money slide,” he said before giving his conclusion. “For long eyes: Kane, Barrett U2, followed by EVO 2.0, Holladay 1 Wang-Koch”, he began. “Short eyes: Zeiss AI, Cookie K6, Kane, Hill-RBF, but keep an eye on EVO 2.0 and Pearl-DGS.”
“Keratoconic eyes: Barrett-KC, Kane-KC, followed by SRK/T and Holladay 1, both Wang-Koch adjusted. And in post-LVC eyes: the Barrett True-K TK or No History, followed by the ASCRS AVG-4 or EVO 2.0.”
Glaucoma and cornea mayhem at day’s end
Lunch followed and the day marched on, with a steady throng of ophthalmologists and industry from around the globe chatting, debating, and sharing the latest knowledge around the venue.
Among the mountains of information on display in the afternoon, two key sessions that took place on Ballroom Level 3 were particularly noteworthy. The first was the star-studded Glaucoma Pearls: High Speed, High Impact.
In this session, panelists Drs. Nathan Radcliffe, Manjool Shah, Doug Rhee, Kuldev Singh, Sarah Van Tassel, Lorraine Provencher, and Chris Teng came prepared with their mightiest tips, tricks and papers of the past year. In a unique twist, these were then voted on live by the audience in a packed Ballroom East, with the winners announced at the end.
Glaucoma Pearls: High Speed, High Impact Audience Favorites
Top Pearl: Dr. Lorraine Provencher’s ‘octoknot’ for occlusion of non-valved glaucoma drainage tube implants (see video)
Top Papers (tie):
Effect of “365 Breathing Technique” on Intraocular Pressure and Autonomic Functions in Patients With Glaucoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Presented by Dr. Van Tassel)1
The Effect of Blue-Light Filtering Intraocular Lenses on the Development and Progression of Glaucoma (Presented by Dr. Teng)2
The second session happens to be our highlight session for Day Two: Corneal Surgery—Latest Innovations and Updates in Surgical Approach. This session was chock full of the corneal state of the art as selected, explained and dissected by a cast of America’s most prominent corneal specialists.
Be sure to check that article out here, where we cover it in full detail. And with that, Day Two of ASCRS 2024 is a wrap from all of us here at Media MICE. Stay tuned to all of our channels for our Day Three coverage, and thanks for reading!
Editor’s Note: The 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS 2024) is being held from 5 to 8 April in Boston, Massachusetts. Reporting for this story took place during the event.
References
- Dada T, Gwal RS, Mahalingam K, et al. Effect of “365 Breathing Technique” on Intraocular Pressure and Autonomic Functions in Patients With Glaucoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Glaucoma. 2024;33(3):149-154.
- Hecht I, Kanclerz P, Achiron A, Elbaz U, Tuuminen R. The Effect of Blue-Light Filtering Intraocular Lenses on the Development and Progression of Glaucoma. J Glaucoma. 20231;32(6):451-457.
