Caught looking over the bay in front of Alcatraz. I love meetings in San Francisco! I loved living in this part of the country in 2002 and 2003 and always love to return whenever I get the chance. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting was in a great venue at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. I was honored to be accepted as one of the upcoming classes of the Leadership Development Council of the AAO for the upcoming year. Our elite group of young ophthalmologists is a superb class from throughout the United States and Latin America. We also had some exceptional talks at the Federated Societies Symposium hosted by the Cornea Society and the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), including my fellow's presentation (Dr. Lusk) of our work on endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK). He did a great job!

SICCSO Meeting in Sorrento, Italy

I had the chance to visit Sorrento, Italy for the S.I.C.C.S.O. Meeting which is a meeting of cornea and refractive specialists all over the world. Professor Sarnicola runs an exceptional meeting. One of the best meetings I have had the privilege to speak throughout the world.

Eye Net Interview

I have an interview in this month's EyeNet which focuses on "A Look at LASIK" as well as new corneal transplant techniques. EyeNet is a monthly publication presented by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

New Cornea Surgery for Treatment of Keratoconus

Dr. Anwar and Dr. Lee

Dr. Lee utilizes a new corneal surgical technique for the treatment of keratoconus. The technique involves a partial thickness cornea transplant he learned from the inventor, Dr. Anwar, for surgical treatment of keratoconus, a condition that affects 1 in 1000 patients. Georgia corneal surgeons typically perform full thickness cornea transplants for keratoconus, but the partial thickness procedure prevents endothelial rejection of the new donor cornea, significantly enhancing success rates and vision recovery for patients with this condition. While the new procedure shows better vision and safety in keratoconus patients, the technical difficulty of the procedure keeps most surgeons from transitioning to this improved technique.

See the video link to the technique published by EYENET, a publication for enhancing research and news for America's ophthalmologists.

http://www.aao.org/aao/publications/eyenet/200906/index.cfm