RSIG, ISRS join forces

SAN FRANCISCO — Two leading refractive surgery groups have joined forces to create “the world’s largest and strongest eye care organization that is solely dedicated to refractive surgery,” the groups announced last week.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Refractive Surgery Interest Group (RSIG) and the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) have become one organization, now known as the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (ISRS/AAO). The Journal of Refractive Surgery, the official publication of the ISRS, will continue to be the official publication of the new venture.

“This joining of the two groups is something we’ve talked about for many years and it’s finally come to fruition,” said George O. Waring, MD, chief medical editor of Journal of Refractive Surgery. “This will make the single strongest dedicated refractive surgery group in the world. With the international strength of ISRS and the organizational depth of the Academy, the joining will place refractive surgery squarely in the mainstream of ophthalmology.”

According to the AAO, the new organization will have more than 2,500 members from more than 80 countries. Current RSIG members will automatically become members of ISRS/AAO and will continue to receive the peer-reviewed journal, added H. Dunbar Hoskins, Jr., MD, AAO’s executive vice president.

“The Journal of Refractive Surgery, which is owned and published by SLACK Inc., will continue its publication from a much stronger contributor base,” Dr. Waring said. “More than half the articles currently come from outside the United States, and I hope that the joining of these two organizations will increase contributions from within the United States”

Abstracts from the journal are available online by clicking here. ISRS members may also access full-text online through the OSN SuperSite...