Emirates Ophthalmology Conference ends on successful note

The conference which is organized by the Emirates Ophthalmic Society (EMAOS) and in partnership with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) closed as a success with the participation of more than seventy eminent surgeons and speakers from international and regional organizations, including the European Vitreo-Retina Society (EVRS), Egypt Society for Ocular Implants & Refractive Surgery (ESOIRS), Retina international, the Emirates Cataract and Refractive Surgery Club and the Emirates Retina club.

Conference delegates in a facilitated discussion held in the final plenary session of the 2008 EOC agreed on number recommendations as key areas for strategic activity during 2009. Among those recommendations is a call to set up guidelines for the main eye diseases in the region including retinopathy of prematurity, Cataracts -regarded as the main cause of blindness in the region -and lazy eye (or amblyopia). They also agreed on establishing a regional electronic database to register the blind and visually impaired individuals.

Moreover, delegates agreed on joining efforts to establish a corneal transplantation law to facilitate the establishment of a national corneal bank. Corneal transplantation is one of the most common types of human transplant surgeries and has the highest success rate in which a patient's damaged cornea is replaced by the cornea from the eye of a human cadaver. A national corneal bank will help acquire and store eyes from donor individuals to supply the need for transplant corneas.

"The EOC was a success by all means," said Dr. Manal Taryam, the President of EMAOS and Ophthalmologist at the Dubai Health Authority. "We were approached by many international and regional organizations including the European Society of Glaucoma which wanted to cooperate with us in preparing for the next EOC in 2010. I want to thank all participants and delegates for their participation. They all came with a vision to help fight blindness and I want to thank them all for lighting our way."

As part of the event, some of the most cutting edge research and technologies in eye surgery were introduced. Researchers also presented reports on a national scheme for blindness prevention, methods to reduce bad eyesight and the incidence of serious eye diseases. The EOC succeeded in attracting more than 600 international, regional and local ophthalmologists, optometrists, mid-level eye care providers from around the region.

The EOC wrapped up with a gala reception. The guest of honor for this event was HE Dr. Ali Shaker- - Director General, Ministry of Health. Four media awards were presented including Best TV coverage of the EOC awarded to Sama Dubai-, Best Arabic Daily to Al-Khaleej-, Best English Daily to Gulf News-, and Best Journalist's Coverage to Saed Adabaa from Al Khaleej Newspaper. MCI- Dubai, the local conference organizer for the event was also honored during the gala dinner for their role in handling all local logistics, registration and local promotion of the conference.