1 Festival Sq
Edinburgh
EH3 9SR
Without wanting to blow too much smoke in one direction, one of the many great things about UKISCRS President David Lockington is that he’s a Glasgow-based surgeon, which means that he, like the rest of the Eye News team, understand the particular qualities that make Scotland one of the most beautiful wee corners of the planet. And while we don’t stay in Scotland for the weather, we are forever pulled in by its charms and humour, so it was with absolute pleasure that we welcomed the UKISCRS #EyeFamily to Edinburgh today for the annual Cornea & Cataract Day 2026 which took place at the Sheraton Grand Hotel. Here’s what we got up to during the day…
Image courtesy of David Mollison: www.davidmollisonphotography.com
Morning sessions
During the first of four sessions kicking off the C&C Day, we heard from Peter Wilson, Allon Barsam, Hatch Mukherjee, Sarah Maling and Christine Kiire, each providing their experience-earned insights into topics like post-refractive biometry, traumatic cataract and artificial iris, and compliance issues, amongst other topics. In his well-received presentation, Allon presented video case studies with which to explore his ‘tips and tricks’ for IOL exchange. Allon emphasised simplicity overall, touching upon considerations for planning the bag replacement and alternatives, with a focus on large haptic plate IOLs, noting that “complex surgery is just many, many simple steps.”
The second round of sessions saw speakers ‘addressing complex corneas’, looking into issues such as neurotrophic ocular surfaces, DALK dilemmas and failing grafts. Opening the presentations, Başak Bostanci addressed a huge range of potential complications of refractive laser surgeries, stating that “we are in a good era right now,” while stressing the need for precautions. Natasha Spiteri followed, summarising “what is quite a vast topic now” in approaches to corneal vessels,” and updating on new clinical data, recommendations of treatment, and future directions.
The big Five-O
With all the pro-Scotland energy dealt with, it’s time to share some energy for our southern friends in London who are preparing to welcome UKISCRS back for their annual meeting later in the year, and this one is special: it’s their 50th birthday! Along with their colleagues in the YOP and UKISOP, the #EyeFamily at UKISCRS will be bringing their best to the Congress, which will be held primarily within London’s County Hall (SE1 7GP), while also spreading to the London Transport Museum and the Hard Rock Café, between 18–20 November 2026! For more information, click here, and keep an eye out for our previews and socials leading up to the event.
Coffee and conversations
If there’s anyone you want on your society council, your clinic or at the podium, it’s Bita Manzouri. A consultant ophthalmologist in the south of England, Bita is also the UKISCRS Secretary and President Elect, and will be stepping into the presidency role later this year. One of the wonderful things that Bita represents is the UKISCRS #EyeFamily — the powerhouse that it is — and how committed they are all to collaboration and getting the job done, together.
Afternoon sessions
Keith Barton, Christelle Tendo, Andrew Tatham, Lai-Yeung Ngai and Kerr Brogan each took centre stage in the ‘Not straightforward! Decision making in the complex anterior segment’ session, taking us into the afternoon. With an adjusted focus on glaucoma and VR, moderators Laura Crawley and Tom Flynn asked, “When you get into trouble, who can save you?” And the speakers showed up on full form. Opening up the talks with views on nanophthalmos, Keith warned in his ‘Big things can go wrong in small spaces’ presentation that “you don’t know what you haven’t done until you haven’t done it.” Through case studies and lessons learned, Keith shared his pearls of wisdom which delegates had delegates feeling a little more informed, supported, and a little more seen by their peers in neighbouring subspecialties.
Moderated by Nishani Amerasinghe and Mario Saldanha, the final segment of the day hosted the ‘Strong Opinions Soapbox’, which had five speakers present their (at times, controversial) topics to the audience before time for a discussion on each. ‘All eye doctors should be on social media’ was expressed by Chanelle Smith, speaking to the digital age that many doctors navigate now as private clinicians, while Artemis Matsou looked back to the NHS, suggesting that toric IOLs should be available to all. Do you think that ‘No male myope under 60 should have cataract surgery?’
Image courtesy of David Mollison: www.davidmollisonphotography.com
Win with UKISCRS
Throughout the day, we have had delegates appearing at our stand and getting their bingo-card-style sheets stamped, along with a special select few to whom we’ve given our ‘Chris the Pidgeon’ stamps (no favourites, we promise!). The winners of both the stamp sheets and the best social media post were awarded with discounted registration fees to future UKISCRS events! Well done to all of those who kept themselves busy engaging with the industry; a great reminder of the brilliant industry support that help realise stand-out events such as these.
That's all folks!
It’s been a hugely successful day in Edinburgh today and our appreciation goes out to Louise and her team at UKISCRS, and of course the society faculty that have worked hard in pulling together the programme for 2026’s Cornea & Cataract Day. Given that this event was on home turf, we were delighted to have our colleague Nova join us throughout. From Eye News, we wish you all safe travels but to your respective homes, and we look forward to seeing you all in London for UKISCRS’ 50th birthday!
