Excellence across the board at the 2024 Euretina Congress

(Image credit: AdobeStock/marchello74)

The European Society of Retina Specialists (Euretina) held its 24th annual congress in Barcelona, Spain. From September 19 to 22, 2024, retina researchers and practicing clinicians flooded the Barcelona International Convention Center. Though attendees were steps away from the beach and had rich cultural sites in every direction, they stayed close to the convention hall, where fascinating scientific and social programs captured their attention for the full span of the meeting.

Keynote speakers share their insights

At this year’s Euretina Congress, our team had the opportunity to speak with all 4 keynote speakers.
Their lectures added an element of global perspective to the program and emphasized how retina specialists worldwide contribute to the greater good.

David Yorston, FRCS, FRCOphth, delivered the Gisbert Richard Lecture. His talk focused on a collaborative project from Euretina and the British and Eire Association of Vitreoretinal Surgeons (BEAVRS), titled “Ten Years On: What Have We Learned From the Euretina/BEAVRS Database So Far.” The joint database includes data from over 15,000 retinal detachments and over 5000 macular holes, and more than 10 original research papers have been produced based on the database.

“We’ve learned things about the phenotype of macular holes in retinal detachment; for example, that macular holes are larger in women than they are in men and hence more likely to fail,” Yorston said. “We’ve learned that in macular holes, the conventional definition of a large hole was 400 µm, but we’ve shown that the prognosis only changes when the hole is over 500 µm. So we’ve changed the definition of a large hole.” In retinal detachment, the database has supported another change to conventional wisdom, revealing that early surgery (within 72 hours of detachment) significantly benefits visual outcomes.

The clinical findings are vital but not what Yorston hopes audiences remembered most clearly about his lecture. “I hope that the thing that they really remember is the most important lesson, which is the one at the end, which is that in a world that’s increasingly divided and polarized, the Euretina database reminds us of how much we can achieve when we work together.”

Taiji Sakamoto, MD, PhD, shared a similar message in his Kreissig Award Lecture, “My Journey to Retinal Detachment: Mechanism, Treatment, Results, and Social Impact.” Speaking about his career, Sakamoto admitted that, early on, he did not consider sociological or environmental factors to be a vital part of his work in eye care. “Over time, I came to understand if you want to save every [patient with] retinal detachment, you have to affect society,” he said. Gender discrimination, for example, prevents many female patients in Japan from accessing effective, equitable care. The best way to challenge discriminatory treatment is through professional societies, like Euretina, that enable clinicians worldwide to identify and tackle problems. “Euretina has a long-range perspective, a strategic perspective,” Sakamoto said. “They think patient first, but at the same time, they are very realistic.”

Kyoko Ohno-Matsui, MD, PhD, delivered the Euretina Lecture for 2024, titled “Pathologic Myopia: New Horizons Through Cutting-Edge Imaging Technologies.” Speaking about the outlook shared by her colleagues, she used her lecture topic as an example of the expanded opportunities for care made possible by breaking boundaries and collaborating across borders and specialties. “It’s a really globally diverse congress, and the program is well thought out. I see many myopia sessions as well,” she said. “Before, myopia was thought to be specific to Asian countries, but now it’s becoming more prevalent in many areas.”

In her lecture, Ohno-Matsui explored ways in which myopia can impact the entire eye. “Pathological myopia is a deformity of the eye shape. So, with 3D MRI, we can see the entire shape of the eye from any angle and how it is deformed in each patient. This information is important because we may be able to treat the shape of the eye before vision-threatening complications,” she explained. The Euretina audience was especially interested in Ohno-Matsui’s examples of effective imaging techniques. Because the retinal choroid sclera is thin, it allows for deep-tissue imaging and a clear view of the eye. In addition to 3D MRI, she discussed applications of ultrawidefield optical coherence tomography (OCT) and a novel technology called polarization-sensitive OCT (PS-OCT), which visualizes the scleral collagen fibers.

The final keynote address was the Ophthalmologica Lecture, delivered by Yousif Subhi, MD, PhD. His talk, which focused on a patient-first approach to retina care, was titled “Things That Matter: An Evidence-Based Approach to AMD and CSC.” His research was born from a personal experience: When Subhi’s mother developed cancer, she had many questions about her prognosis and her care but received few adequate answers from her physicians. This, Subhi said, is what inspired his research and, eventually, his lecture topic.

“I did a lot of research in aging and age-related immunological changes and how that affects [the] risk of age-related macular degeneration [AMD],” he explained. “I focus on questions, simple clinical questions, that matter the most to the patients…in the field of AMD and CSC [central serous chorioretinopathy]. My key takeaway is to focus on these patient experiences and advise patients [in] the best possible way.”

Updates from the Eye Care Network’s board members

Several members of the Eye Care Network’s editorial advisory boards (EABs) were present at this Euretina meeting: Jean-François Korobelnik, MD, PhD; Anat Loewenstein, MD; and Aleksandra Rachitskaya, MD, all members of the Modern Retina EAB: and David Chow, MD, a member of the Ophthalmology Times® EAB.

Although Rachitskaya presented on several clinical topics, including home OCT, the World Retina Day programming stood out to her as particularly memorable. As part of a special initiative, Euretina partnered with other global societies to celebrate World Retina Day with symposia on September 21. Rachitskaya is a trustee of the Vit-Buckle Society, which held a symposium at the congress on challenging surgical videos.

“It’s the first time we had Vit-Buckle at Euretina,” she explained. “I thought for a first-time surgical symposium, I would have 20 people in the room…I think it was 500 plus. I don’t know the exact count, but it’s fantastic. I want to thank all the panelists who participated; they presented amazing surgical cases and had a wonderful discussion.”

Leaders share their take-home messages

Members of the Euretina leadership shared valuable behind-the-scenes insights. Martin S. Zinkernagel, MD, PhD, general secretary of Euretina, encouraged attendees to put their conference experience to work in the clinical setting. “What we all want to do is use the data or the things we learned at Euretina in our clinical practices. And I think when you go back to the office on Monday or Tuesday, and you see cases you’re not sure how to handle, you can think back to these main sessions or these instruction courses,” he said. “We covered so many things. There will have been something you’ve heard that you can apply to this patient.”

Nicole Eter, MD, incoming president of Euretina, reiterated that sentiment. She urged ophthalmologists, particularly young retina specialists, to take advantage of the organization’s programming all year long.

“Of course, if you say, ‘Euretina,’ then everyone thinks of the convention,” Eter said. “But that’s only 4 days, and Euretina is much more. It is a society, and it’s growing everywhere.” On the Euretina website (euretina.org),
visitors can find podcasts, webinars, case studies, and other educational resources as well as information about online and in-person events. Early-career ophthalmologists can also take advantage of the Young Retina Specialists (YOURS) program, which provides opportunities for education, mentorship, and networking. Eter encouraged any young retina specialists or those planning to enter the field to reach out to Euretina at any time to get involved. “Just drop us an email, and we can connect you with YOURS,” she said.

She also praised the candidates who sat for the FEBOS-R specialty exam this year.

The 2024 congress was the second year that Euretina attendees could register to take this specialty exam in retina. “We have 53 candidates who passed and are now specialists,” Eter said. “Next year, we will have the third one.” Applications will open online on November 18 to those who have either taken and passed the general European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO) exam or have obtained a board certificate from a specific country and have worked 2 years in a retina specialty.

Bahram Bodaghi, MD, PhD, FEBO, a co-opted Euretina board member, expressed gratitude to Eter for her hard work in leading the group that made the subspecialty exam possible. “All those who are attending are working very hard. This is not an easy exam,” he said, noting that candidates who participated came from all over the world. “Euretina is in Europe, but not only focused on Europe.”

Before the 2024 congress ended, Bodaghi, a professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, said the retina community should start planning their visit to his home country for a major milestone next year. “We all count on the members to come to Paris next year because it will be the 25th anniversary of Euretina,” he implored Euretina members and conference attendees.