We’ve entered the home stretch in Boston for the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS 2024), and Day Three is in the books. Things picked up where they left off yesterday on Day Two, with a steady stream of delegates attending the more than 60 sessions on the docket.
Things took on a decidedly more international flavor in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, as some of the day’s most momentous sessions featured visiting experts from sibling-CRS societies from around the globe.
The spirit of better vision through international cooperation shined through in events from the smaller Meeting Rooms to the Main Stage—so saddle up for this round-up of another unforgettable day at ASCRS 2024.
Morning sessions and overheard on the show floor
The day’s global feel got started right away in Meeting Room 253 with WhatsApp? International Solutions for Common Anterior Segment Dilemmas, an ASCRS Symposium featuring experts from every corner of the planet.
European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) Secretary Prof. Burkhard Dick was spotted warming up for his later role at the Cataract Olympics (more on this later!) with his talk, entitled Hindsight Is 20/20: Intumescent White Cataract under Pressure. He was joined at the session by session moderator, fellow Team ESCRS member and ESCRS President Prof. Filomena Ribeiro in a session full of new perspectives on key issues in cataract surgery.
Another popular session—and one your correspondent overheard discussion on multiple times throughout the day—was the Instructional Course Phacoemulsification and Cataract Removal in Eyes with Preexisting Posterior Capsular Defects. American cataract surgeon and Media MICE pal Dr. Dave Lubeck served as head instructor, with Asia Pacific titan Prof. Ronald Yeoh and others serving as co-instructors.
Cataract Olympics
The spirit of international cooperation was briefly suspended after the lunch break during one of the most memorable sessions of ASCRS 2024—Cataract Olympics on the Main Stage. The competition featured teams of four elite surgeons from the world’s major cataract societies: Team ESCRS (Europe; Drs. Burkhard Dick, Filomena Ribeiro, Joaquín Fernández and Oliver Findl), Team LASCRS (Latin America; Drs. María José Cosentino, Roger Zaldivar, Bruna Ventura and Randall Ulate), Team APACRS (Asia-Pacific; Drs. Ronald Yeoh, Mun Wai Lee, Soosan Jacob and Robert Ang) and Team ASCRS (US and Canada; Drs. Bonnie Henderson, Ike Ahmed, Zaina Al-Mohtaseb and Sumit Garg).
After their self-produced intro videos, the teams strutted out in their liveries: Cookie Monster bicycle jerseys for Team LASCRS, jockey uniforms with inflatable horses for Team ASCRS, fighting regalia for Team APACRS and national football kits for team ESCRS.
The contestants then competed across three categories—Cataract Technology Hurdles, IOL Wrestling and Cataract Gymnastics. Team members showed off complicated case videos and top pearls, with a winner voted on by the audience for each category and an overall team.
It was a tall order for Dr. David Chang to moderate a boisterous discussion, but this was one of the main features of the event. The spirited international rivalry produced some brutal commentary, but it was all in the interest of improving outcomes for surgeons and patients around the world.
Cataract Olympics Gold Medals
Cataract Technology Hurdles: Dr. Robert Ang (Philippines), Toric IOL Alignment
IOL Wrestling: Dr. Ike Ahmed (Canada), IOL Exchange (Open PC)
Overall Team Champion: Team ASCRS
Cataract Surgery Gymnastics: Dr. Randall Ulate (Costa Rica), Iris IOL Fixation
Huge turnout for 42nd Annual ASCRS Film Festival
The film festival and awards ceremony is always a centerpiece of any ophthalmic meeting, and this year’s ASCRS edition was certainly that. Maybe there’s just something about the glamor of the big screen (or maybe it was the free-flowing alcohol), but there was an air of palpable excitement as a large, raucous crowd awaited—and cheered on—this year’s deserving awardees.
Clad in tuxedos and evening gowns, the esteemed judges of this year’s competition, led by moderator Dr. Denise Visco and Chief Judge Dr. John Hart, handed out awards across the festival’s ten categories. Two additional films were marked Best of the Best and one received the coveted Grand Prize.
42nd Annual ASCRS Film Festival Honorees
Grand Prize
Dr. Santaro Noguchi (Japan), Breakthrough with Artificial Capsular Bag in Cataract Surgery
New Producer/Young Physician
Winner: Dr. Shreya Nayak (India), ND Ring, the Ring of Light*
Runner-up: Dr. Camilla Walsh Crema (Brazil), Internet of Things: Improving Education and Surveillance in Cataract Surgery
New Techniques
Winner: Dr. Michael Snyder (USA), A Novel Quick-Set Temporary Keratoprosthesis
Runner-up: Dr. Smita Agarwal (Australia), Epithelial Cell Ingrowth: An Innovative Solution to Every Surgeon’s Worst
Special Interest
Winner: Dr. Sirjhun Patel (Canada), The Nursing Success Story—Developing High Volume Cataract Surgery in NHS Scotland
Runner-up: Dr. Kannusamy Veena (India), Fostering Innovation in Ophthalmology: A Spotlight on Hackathon Nightmare
Cataract Complications
Winner: Dr. Hisaharu Suzuki (Japan), Visualization
Runner-up: Dr. Athiya Agarwal (India), The Triad
Instruments & Devices/IOLs
Winner: Dr. Jiri Cendelin (Czech Republic), Refinement of the Flanged Scleral Fixation Technique
Runner-up: Dr. Tauanni Alves (Brazil), Hard Times, Hard Work
Refractive/Cornea Surgery
Winner: Dr. Bruno Trindad (Brazil), Tuck It In!
Runner-up: Dr. Pooja Khamar (India), Tear Biomarkers in Everyday Practice
New Producer / Young Physician
Winner: Dr. Shail Vasavada (India), The Long and Short of It—Spotlight on the Clear Corneal Incision
Runner-up: Dr. Liliana Werner (USA), Learning from the Past
In-House Production
Winner: Dr. Rushad Shroff (India), The Silk Road: Going Places with Lenticule Extraction
Runner-up: Dr. Tushya Om Parkash (India), Transformative Journey of Capsular Tears: Foe to Ally
Glaucoma Surgery
Winner: Dr. Rengaraj Venkatesh (India), Ab Interno Schlemm’s Canal Surgery, A Comprehensive Guide to Navigate the Canal with Precision—Touch, Tear and Thread the Canal
Runner-up: Dr. Haripriya Aravind (India), From Soil to Sight: An Inconceivable Invasion
Cataract/Implant Surgery
Winner: Dr. Andre Monsanto (Brazil), Simple and Effective WAys to Improve Ergonomics at the Operating Room and Office, Including a New Microscope Accessory
Runner-up: Dr. Avery Thau (USA), Correction of Intraocular Lens Optic Tilt in Intrasclerally-Fixated Lenses
*Best of the Best Awardee
And with this list of Film Festival awardees, that’s a wrap for another riveting day here in Boston at ASCRS 2024. We’ve got the final day of the Meeting coming up tomorrow, with one last wrap-up and highlight session coming at you when the dust is settled. Stay tuned!
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.
