Seminar reviews: Retinopathy of Prematurity & Practical Skills in Retinal Imaging
12 October 2016
Retinopathy of Prematurity – Friday 16 September 2016, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists
This one day seminar, organised and chaired by Mr Ayad Shafiq and Mr CK Patel, provided a fantastic insight in to the current practice of using anti-VegF treatments for Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
There were 9 talks from experienced speakers covering current UK practice, evidence supporting Anti- VEGF use, the use of imaging and algorithms to monitor ROP, as well as dosing and post treatment management. Highlights included Professor Michael O’Keefe reflecting on his long term experience, Roxanne Hillier discussing ultra-low dose Bevacizumab and Jeeva Sankar presenting the Cochrane review data live from New Delhi! There was plenty of opportunity for audience participation, presentation of cases and invaluable input from other experts attending. Given this topic is at the forefront of ROP management I would suggest this is an essential seminar for anyone making treatment decisions in Retinopathy of Prematurity.
Stephanie West, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Southampton General Hospital
Practical Skills in Retinal Imaging – Monday 26 September 2016, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists
Organised and chaired by Mr Pearse Keane, this was a really informative and educational day. It had something for everyone as the audience consisted of a broad spectrum of delegates. The session began with excellent presentations from Pearse on the basics of optical coherence tomography and the different methods and advances in this technology bringing us up-to-date with new advances such as enhanced depth imaging in OCT and the use of OCT angiography which will be a really valuable tool in the future.
The sessions on fluoresce in angiography and indocyanine angiography were really clear and helpful and Tarek El Khasab gave an excellent presentation on ultrasound. We had an useful session from Niro Narendran crystallising the practical and important points of diagnosis and monitoring in macular degeneration and following this, Saj Mahmoud gave us a really helpful understanding of the diagnosis and management of diabetic retinopathy. We had an excellent talk on the diagnosis and monitoring therapy for retinal vein occlusions from Richard Gale and finally a closing interactive talk on interesting cases including diagnosis and what to do next.
Thoroughly recommended to all grades of ophthalmologist and allied ophthalmic practitioners as there was something to learn for everyone and the speakers were all extremely helpful, approachable and interactive.
Anthony Moriarty, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Steppinghill Hospital, Stockport