I am….somewhat notorious for not contemporaneously posting compared to my contemporaries – not that I don’t greatly appreciate the wonderful opportunities I have with the direction of my career, but more out of simply (1) being busy and (2) wanting to be intentionally a bit more present in the moment, rather than rushing to document every moment. (This isn’t to say I don’t love the barrage of photos that e-fly everywhere as the excitement winds down in the aftermath – I do! After all, I am very much part of that generation, haha. ) I do, however, deeply treasure the memories made with the people I meet, connect or reconnect with and these meetings are no exception – keeping those memories in one place here I guess is my way of slow but savoured reflection.
ESCRS, the European equivalent of the ASCRS (American) and AUSCRS (Australasian), is the conference I usually reserve for learning and absorbing rather than necessarily rushing about being “onstage” necessarily. Being in a European city is always a plus and I truly love having the pressure-less environment to soak up the local culture and learn, question and test out technologies that have yet to become available for my patients in Australia.
Held in Milan, Italy, one of the highlights of ESCRS was visiting the practice of Dr Francesco Carones and Amanda Carones who have built an incredible laser, cataract and aesthetic practice in the heart of the city. Both Physician CEOs themselves, the practice has also expanded into dentistry, gynaecology, orthopaedics and plastic surgery and their primary focus, in their words, is “commitment to guaranteeing excellent and cutting-edge healthcare services, which promote and improve the quality of life of each patient, while guaranteeing each one an extraordinary medical experience.” This resonates so much with the way I love to practice, with the focus on the extraordinary experience for my patients as part of their healthcare journey.
Other activities I managed to pack into the very busy few days was the opportunity to meet with the Global Educational and Research Society of Ophthalmologist’s (GERSO) Young Ophthalmologist Committee – meeting Drs Ankur Barua and Lena Beckers face to face (after having worked with them for two years online only since the pandemic) – was such a rewarding experience after only e-knowing them. I am grateful to have been a part of the GERSO’s formative years and look forward to the amazing things I have no doubts they will achieve as a group.
The CorNeat team were out in force to evaluate their new technologies under the leadership of Dr Gilad Litvin and it was so exciting to hear about their developments in the artifical cornea realm. I also had the privilege of meeting Drs Alja Crnej and Roberto Pineda who ran the Boston KPro session – their experience with the device is incredible.
Catching up in the 30C heat with one of my very first cornea fellows – Dr Blanca Benito, based in Spain. It’s still hard to believe I have fellows now! And onto my sixth, how time flies.
All in all, a wonderful meeting in a beautiful area of the world. Hard to believe I hopped back to Australia for 48 hours to return to Chicago a mere three days later.
