All about cataract surgery…

We have just had the annual RANZCO Scientific Congress in Perth this year, the biggest ophthalmology meeting in Australia.

For me it was all about cataract surgery this year! I presented on “Update in IOL Formulae” for the cataract section in the “What did I Miss...that I really need to know today!” symposium. I discussed the latest and proven formulae in IOL selection, for us to get the best refractive outcomes for our cataract patients. With artificial intelligence being incorporated into some of the formulae, our refractive outcomes will become more predictable in the future.

In the “Latest advances and future of refractive cataract surgery” symposium, I discussed pre-operative counselling and managing expectations prior to surgery. I outlined the process of discussing with our patients their visual needs and goals, and the IOL options and their trade-offs. Unfortunately there is no perfect IOL that suits everyone! Our role is to select the best technology that suits each individual patient, in a collaborative decision making process.

A highlight for me was to reunite with several international friends and colleagues, who had been part of the Myanmar Eye Care Program. For 7 years from 2013 to 2020, I was a volunteer ophthalmologist in this program, where we provided eye surgery to Burmese people, and importantly also engaged with the local ophthalmologists in teaching skills in cataract, corneal, and retinal surgery. It was apt that our symposium was titled: “When the going gets tough in cataract surgery: A video symposium of how to deal with challenges during cataract surgery.”