optician previews a conference that has grown steadily through the recent turbulent years in refractive surgery
TEXT: Practitioners already involved with or wishing to know more about refractive surgery will be pleased to hear that the annual clinical conference of the British Society for Refractive Surgery (BSRS) is taking place in Oxford next month.
As well as presentations on established surgical techniques, there will be a special symposium on new technologies including subepithelial lenticules and Epilasik, a variation on laser epithelial keratomileusis (Lasek) using a modified microkeratome to create an epithelial flap. This better maintains the viability of the epithelial layer since the degree of cell death associated with the use of 20 per cent alcohol does not occur. As a result, healing is supposedly faster with less pain and a reduced risk of corneal haze.
David O'Brart (Guy's and St Thomas' hospital), who has extensive experience with Lasek, will compare Lasek and Epilasik with the more common Lasik treatment. He will also present his results for both conventional and customised Lasek treatments.
Other keynote speakers include Professor Bruce Jackson (University of Ottawa Eye Institute, Canada) who will be talking about the use of topographic data in corneal refractive surgery, along with Professor Thomas Kohnen (University of Frankfurt, Germany) and Professor John Marshall (St Thomas' hospital). To assist clinicians encountering patients interested in customised laser surgery, Dr Chris Hull (City University) will provide some much-needed explanation of higher-order aberrations and the techniques for measuring and quantifying them in a clinical context.
The conference is taking place at the Martin Wood Complex, Oxford University Physics Department on Saturday and Sunday July 2-3. CET credits have been applied for. For further information, please contact Julia Bandy at Quantum PR on 0121 6337775 or email Julia.bandy@quantum-pr.com