The 7th Cyprus Ophthalmological Society Annual Congress

It was an honour and pleasure to present at this year’s meeting of the Cyprus Ophthalmological Society in November.

The first of my two talks was on the history and development of DMEK, a technique where only 10 microns of tissue is transplanted. The original idea for partial thickness transplantation of the back surface of the cornea, (the clear window at the front of the eye) came from Gerrit Melles in Rotterdam. Surgeons around the World then built on his original idea and I published the first UK series of the technique whilst I was a fellow at Moorfields Eye Hospital over 10 years ago. The technique has continued to be modified and we’re now at a stage where we transplant a scroll of tissue achieving phenomenal results with shorter recovery periods.

The second talk was on the management of ocular trauma. At the Western Eye Hospital where I work as a consultant eye surgeon, we have an eye casualty that is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week and make up one of London’s major trauma centres. As such, we see a lot of eye related trauma. I shared my experiences of the difficulties and challenges of managing ocular trauma as well as examples of real success stories.

It was also great to hear talks from two other key consultants in the field of ophthalmology; Richard Packard who spoke on the development of cataract surgery as well as changes in surgical technique, and Geoff Rose who was instrumental in the advances made in managing thyroid eye disease.

As is customary for the Greeks, the hospitality was second to none, the food was amazing and it was great to get some much needed sun as the UK heads for the darker nights of winter. Still, it does mean that Christmas is just round the corner!