The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) has convened its Winter Meeting in The Netherlands for the first time. While The Hague and Amsterdam had previously hosted the annual ESCRS Congress, Maastricht was the first Dutch city to host the Winter Meeting. The event, which took place from 10-12 February, was attended by nearly 1,000 delegates.
„The Netherlands is a country with a particularly important place in cataract and implant surgery, as without the pioneering work of Cornelius Binkhorst, intraocular lens implants may never have got off the ground,“ said ESCRS president David Spalton.
The ESCRS joined colleagues from the Netherlands, Intra Ocular Implant Club and the Belgian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, for the event. The annual Cornea Day was organised in conjunction with EuCornea. The scientific programme included an extended didactic programme, with courses in basic optics, cataract, refractive surgery and cornea. The Young Ophthalmologists Programme was well attended and the YO Committee also organised a symposium on the topic „The Usual Suspects: How to Handle Your First Complications“.
A live surgery session, organised by Prof Rudy Nuijts and his colleagues at the Maastricht University Medical Centre, was a highlight of the meeting. There was also a symposium on „Contributions of the Low Countries to Ophthalmology“, organised by the Netherlands Intra Ocular Implant Club and the Belgian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.
