There are 8,000 registered attendees for the 23rd Euretina Congress in Amsterdam, also marking a return to the level of in-person attendance last seen in 2019.
At the beginning of the opening ceremony on Thursday afternoon, Euretina President Dr Alistair Laidlaw extended a very warm welcome to those who gathered in the Grand Auditorium.
“It’s great to be in Amsterdam,” Dr Laidlaw said. Without further ado, Dr Laidlaw proceeded to introduce Dr Bertil Damato, who was chosen to present the Euretina lecture.
“It is very hard to find anyone who does not speak extraordinarily highly of him,” Dr Laidlaw said.
“People who work with him say he is just the peak clinician. As well, he set up what is for many people a model for tumour services.”
In his Euretina lecture titled OncoVR – a new subspecialty?, Dr Damato discussed the subspecialty he pioneered and highlighted how the unique knowledge and skills carried by oncoVR surgeons improve care of patients with intraocular tumours.
Following the Euretina lecture, Dr Caroline Klaver introduced Prof August Deutman, co-founder and first president of Euretina. She gave a brief biography for Prof Deutman and highlighted his many accomplishments and contributions.
“It is a big honour to introduce to you one of the finest ophthalmologists from The Netherlands,” Dr Klaver said as she welcomed Prof Deutman to the stage to present prizes to the recipients of the first August Deutman awards. Addressing Prof Deutman, Dr Klaver said, “With the connection of your name to a prize your contribution to ophthalmology will be honoured by Euretina in the years to come.”
Joining Prof Deutman on stage, Dr Laidlaw said, “It is a fantastic honour to have August here in person to present the prizes.”
The August Deutman Awards recognise the top Free Papers, ePosters, and Videos. Dr Laidlaw named the second and third place runners up in each category and welcomed the first place winners onstage to receive their awards. Paolo Lanzetta, Italy, received the award for best free paper for the report on “Intravitreal aflibercept 8 mg injection in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration: 60-week results from the Phase 3 PULSAR trial.” The award for best e-Poster was given to Lourdes Vidal-Oliver, Spain, who accepted the honour on behalf of her co-authors for the poster “Macular changes in patients with light silicone oil tamponade after macula-off retinal detachment surgery.” Apoorva Ayachit, India, received the award for best video for her submission entitled “Trials and tribulations in complex paediatric vitreoretinal detachments”.
Next, Dr Nicole Eter presented the August Deutman award for the top scoring EBO-Euretina Exam Candidate in 2023 to Fernando Jose Huelin Alcubierre, Spain. Dr Eter noted that 2023 is the first time the exam was given, and she congratulated all 46 EBO retina fellows.
“That just about wraps things up,” said Dr Laidlaw, concluding the session. He extended his thanks to the industry sponsors who support the meeting and encouraged attendees to visit the industry exhibition where there is a lot to be learned.
The Euretina Lecture, and all winning free papers, posters and videos, are available on demand for registered delegates.