15th Anniversary of the CSCRS Congress 'New Trends in Ophthalmology'
The opportunity to meet several pioneers of global ophthalmology in one place, as well as numerous top experts performing innovative and rarely seen procedures, was not missed by many regional ophthalmologists who participated in the 15th congress 'New Trends in Ophthalmology' on October 25th and 26th.The Svjetlost Eye Clinic and the Croatian Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery gathered the elite of the world's ophthalmology profession at the jubilee 15th congress, where through two days of lectures and education, they revealed the most important innovations and trends in ophthalmology.
Uday Devgan, MD and Ante Barišić, MD
At the invitation of Dr. Ivan Gabrić and Dr. Krešimir Gabrić, successors of Professor Nikica Gabrić and the Croatian Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (CSCRS) in Zagreb hosted as many as 65 top ophthalmologists and over 600 participants from the region, providing them with a rare and unique opportunity to attend one of the most prestigious ophthalmology congresses of the year. Among them was a large number of experts from Svjetlost Eye Clinic from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, who took advantage of a rare and unique opportunity to listen to and converse with the most renowned ophthalmologists and lecturers from around the world in 'small' Croatia. They all responded to the invite made by Dr. Ivan Gabrić and by Dr. Krešimir Gabrić, which confirmed their reputation at the world level.
Professor Nikica Gabrić and Sheraz Daya, MD
“We are extremely proud as this congress has confirmed that we are a relevant factor on the world stage of ophthalmology, and our goal is to provide all colleagues from the region with the opportunity to gain free access to knowledge and innovations that change everyone's lives for the better. Besides having the opportunity to learn about the current pinnacle of global ophthalmology, we also presented them with procedures for lenticular extraction and PHACO Wet Lab cataract operations (cataracts) and LipiFlow treatments through Wet Lab workshops equipped for performing 3rd generation laser vision correction on site”, stated doctor Ivan Gabrić.
Professor Ratimir Lazić and Professor Lyndon da Cruz
They particularly emphasize how, with the organization of this congress, he and his brother doctor Krešimir Gabrić wanted to pay tribute and gratitude to their father, Professor Nikica Gabrić, because throughout their lives he had tought them to 'selflessly share their knowledge with others because this is the way to multiply it' and that with this approach, the Svjetlost Eye Clinic, through free sharing of knowledge and insights, simultaneously repays its debt to society.
Maja Bohač, MD,PHD and David Sung Yong Kang, MD
Special attention from the participants was drawn by several pioneers of the field of ophthalmology: leading world scientist Professor Lyndon da Cruz, from the renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital, is a pioneer in stem cell transplantation for the treatment of hereditary retinal diseases, and he attended the congress at the invitation of his friend, the leading retinal specialist Professor Ratimir Lazić from Svjetlost Eye Clinic as well as the Italian doctor Barbara Parolini who specializes in the operations of the most complex cases on the retina and Rajeev Muni, MD the world's leading expert in pnemoretinopexy as the least invasive retinal ablation operation. Maria Clara Arbelaez, MD is one of the first female surgeons to have written scientific papers on the LASIK method and is often referred to as the 'grandmother of laser vision correction'. She was talking about 3rd generation laser diopter removal - surgical skills and techniques, and David Smadja, MD shared strategies for laser vision correction.
Ivan Gabrić, MD and Francesco Carones, MD
“It should be noted that some of the most innovative procedures were also presented at this congress. Professor Paolo Vinciguerra, for example,is one of the world's leading experts in therapeutic procedures using laser technology for damaged corneas and has done much to raise awareness that some corneas can be saved with the help of laser technology. Juan Arbelaez, MD shared experiences in using human tissue in the treatment of keratoconus, so-called CAIRS technique which is a complete novelty in the world and is not yet widely used, and on this occasion, we can exclusively announce its imminent implementation in Croatia!” said Krešimir Gabrić, MD.
At the congress, awards for outstanding contributions to ophthalmology were also presented, and the lecture made by Uday Devgan, MD better known as the 'cataract surgery skills teacher' received ovations in the hall. This impressive surgeon has swapped his Beverly Hills practice for a visit to the Svjetlost Eye Clinic. Ante Barišić, MD used the occasion and presented an award to his colleague for being an invaluable resource through open and free education on the website cataractcoach.com where for almost 7 years he has been educating colleagues daily via a YouTube channel about the most performed surgical procedure in medicine - cataract surgery.
His contribution to allowing many doctors from both developed and developing countries to gain insight into new skills by watching other doctors operate through video, completely free of charge, is incredible. He is also the most-watched doctor in the world because he has more than 25 million individual video views on YouTube. And while many doctors try to keep their secrets and techniques to themselves, he selflessly and freely shares them with everyone, and that is fascinating. Professor Ratimir Lazić presented to his colleague and friend Professor Lyndon da Cruz the award for being a visionary in ophthalmological research, education and patient care, while Sheraz Day, MD was presented with the award for leadership in ophthalmology and his award was presented to him personally by Professor Nikica Gabrić.
At the congress Associated Maja Bohač, MD,PHD presented the award to David Sung Yong Kang, MD, who is the surgeon who performed the largest number of 3rd generation laser diopter reduction procedures in the world and who is considered by many to be one of the most successful, fastest and most influential surgeons in the world. Award for contribution and promotion of entrepreneurship in ophthalmology to Francesco Carones, MD was handed over by Ivan Gabrić, MD.
Among the influential speakers, three presidents of the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS) stood out: former president Erik Mertens,MD current president Sheraz Daya, MD and the future one Francesco Carones, MD. Doctor Mertens, for example, besides being a top refractive surgeon, is currently in the process of retraining ophthalmologists on how to better choose phakic lenses and has created a new formula for selecting ICLs, which is extremely successful and has just been presented to colleagues. Sheraz Daya is the first doctor to perform LASIK in the United Kingdom, and his journey of courage and innovation in a very complex market is fascinating. Doctor Carones is one of the most quoted and famous speakers at world congresses.
"After educating generations of doctors on how to become better ophthalmologists, he is currently educating them through the Ophthalpreneurs project, promoting ophthalmology as a business model, on how to become more successful businessmen", emphasized the two Gabrić brothers.
Two days of future ophthalmology for the 15th consecutive year have proven that the team from the Svjetlost Eye Clinic, even after being taken over the 'young forces', remains at the top of the world in terms of the quality of scientific-professional activities in the field of ophthalmology and the creation and introduction of global treatment trends into clinical practice. The congress of the ophthalmological elite ended with a gala dinner hosted by Professor Nikica Gabrić, and at the gathering held in Lisinski Hall, an appropriate networking event was organized where everyone agreed that Svjetlost Eye Clinic is rightfully at the global forefront of innovation in ophthalmology.
