By Ritu Chaturvedi, ST5, Northwest Deanery.
The North of England Ophthalmological Society (NEOS) summer meeting 2019 was convened by Andy Chung, Pinderfields Hospital, and the main theme was ‘Beyond excellence in ophthalmology’. An engaging programme attracted a good attendance and some vibrant discussion.
The day started off with a comprehensive lecture on ‘Management of facial burns’ by Umair Anwar, Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Wakefield. He took the audience through many interesting cases including a final discussion around orbital compartment syndrome following burns. This was followed by Bruce Pollack, Consultant Dermatologist, Wakefield, who covered a dermatologist’s perspective on ‘Eyelid conditions an ophthalmologist should never miss.’ Colin Vize, Hull, provided an insightful overview on pearls for general ophthalmologists in managing floppy eyelid syndrome and other challenging oculoplastic conditions. He also talked about associated conditions and giant fornix syndrome.
After the coffee break Ian Simmons, Leeds shared his experience around the challenging subject of litigation in ophthalmology covering ‘Mistakes we made and how we can avoid them.’ We looked at cases he had come across as a member of fitness to practise panel and talked about litigation process and medical negligence. Vernon Long, Leeds, then provided pearls of wisdom on how to achieve a good outcome at ARCP and to stay out of trouble. Sami Habal, Sheffield, followed it up nicely with a detailed talk on top tips on CESR application for SAS doctors.
Narendra Dhingra, Wakefield, updated attendees on various treatment regimes, current unmet needs and the new medications on the horizon in AMD. Rosalind Stewart, Leeds, provided a guide on causes, investigation and management of peripheral corneal thinning.
We were then treated to a session on ‘Artificial intelligence in healthcare’ by Rob Cann. He talked about current projects including ROC diagram for referable diabetic retinopathy, detection of early glaucoma and urgent referral for CNV. Mr Mathew Raynor, Sheffield, talked the audience through various aspects of cataract surgery including factors to consider during operative list construction, selection and optimisation of patients. The meeting was concluded with a video showcase of challenging cataract cases by Atul Varma from Wakefield.
This year the annual poster prizes went to Ritu Chaturvedi and Rosalind Creer from Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.
The Autumn Meeting will take place at Hilton Hotel, Gateshead on 27 November 2019. We look forward to welcoming you there!
