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OSN Las Vegas meeting to feature more interactivity
Attendees will have more opportunities to interact with the faculty, ask questions and get involved.
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This year, OSN Las Vegas: Improving Your Odds 2007 is responding to the two top requests of last year's audience: a more interactive format and an additional focus on retina.
"The theme is a glaucoma, cataract and refractive symposium for the anterior segment surgeon that will be clinically oriented," said Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, Ocular Surgery News Chief Medical Editor and co-course director of the conference. "This year's conference will emphasize case presentations and an opportunity to interact with the audience, and will include a retina update."
 Richard L. Lindstrom |
Beginning June 7 at the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the 3-day conference will address the latest hot topics in ophthalmology, including early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, anti-VEGF agents for age-related macular degeneration, the prevention and management of post-LASIK ectasia and more.
Attendees can earn up to 12.5 CME credits via dozens of lectures covering glaucoma diagnostics and surgery, cataract and refractive surgery and ocular infection, inflammation, allergy and dry eye.
Throughout the symposium, attendees will be presented with numerous opportunities to interact with the faculty and each other.
Glaucoma Journal Club
Brand new for 2007 is the Glaucoma Journal Club, an interactive analysis of the past year's most important glaucoma papers. Meeting co-course director Louis Cantor, MD, and his fellow faculty members will discuss and analyze journal articles covering both diagnostic and surgical techniques and medical therapy. After the faculty exchange, audience members will have time to exchange ideas in an interactive question and answer session.
The first Glaucoma Journal Club session will take place on Thursday, June 7. Article topics include the prognostic significance of optic disc hemorrhages, the prevalence of open-angle glaucoma in elderly patients and the relationship between topical ocular hypotensive medication and lens opacification. The second Glaucoma Journal Club session will meet on Saturday, June 9, and will address long-term outcomes of the surgical repair of late bleb leaks and the results of the recent Tube versus Trabeculectomy Study.
Audience response and Grand Rounds
Also new for 2007 are audience response surveys. At various points throughout symposium, attendees will vote in electronic surveys and instantly learn how the information being presented will impact treatment decisions among their colleagues.
Attendees can also participate in a case-presentation-driven Grand Rounds session, which will take place on Saturday, June 9. An expert faculty panel, including Drs. Lindstrom and Cantor, will debate a variety of carefully selected cases that will be of interest to glaucoma, cataract and refractive surgeons alike. This year atttendees are invited to submit their own cases to the panel; a total of three audience-submitted cases will be chosen and discussed live by the faculty.
"The real key benefits of the Grand Rounds session are the quality faculty and the good opportunity for interaction. A case presentation format is what most participants in the past stated they really liked," Dr. Lindstrom said.
To submit your own case, log on to www.OSNSuperSite.com/vegas or e-mail jscarpa@VindicoMedEd.com. Cases must be received by May 11 in order to be considered. Attendees who have their cases selected will receive a $100 voucher for a medical text published by SLACK Incorporated.
New retina focus
In response to suggestions from previous years' attendees, this year's conference will feature a first-ever keynote address focusing on advancements in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.
"Last year we queried the participants as to what subjects they'd like to see, and retina was the main request. There's just so much going on in retina, what with macular degeneration," Dr. Lindstrom said.
George A. Williams, MD, director of ophthalmology at the Beaumont Eye Institute and an OSN Retina/Vitreous Section Member, will present a 30-minute lecture entitled "Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The Odds Are Improving" on Friday, June 8. His presentation will be geared toward the general ophthalmologist.
"It will be about the fact that our current expectations, or new expectations, in the management of neovascular AMD have changed from stabilizing vision to improving vision," Dr. Williams told Ocular Surgery News. "Now both physicians and patients go into the treatment with the hope, and many times the expectation, that there will be visual improvement. And that is a first since the advent Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech) and Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech)."
On the podium, Dr. Williams will review the current generation of anti-VEGF agents, combinations therapies and future treatments, such as RNA-interfering drugs and VEGF-traps. He will also address more practical concerns, such as how to talk to patients about restoring vision and the cost of retina drugs on the health care system.
"The other major point I'm going to make is the earlier we catch people, the better they can do," Dr. Williams said. "The comprehensive ophthalmologist who chooses not to manage this disease at least has to be aware of it, to be suspicious and to be able to identify high-risk patients and catch people early."
To review the agenda for the 2007 OSN Las vegas meeting, click here.
For more information:
- To register, contact: Registration Manager at Vindico Medical Education; 877-307-5225 (United States and Canada only); 856-994-9400; fax: 856-251-0278; meetingregistration@VindicoMedEd.com; www.OSNSuperSite.com/Vegas.
- Andy Moskowitz is an OSN Staff Writer who covers all aspects of ophthalmology.