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  • The 15 Top Stories From Subspecialty Day and AAO 2019


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    In October, thousands of ophthalmologists convened in San Francisco for the Academy’s Subspecialty Day meetings and AAO 2019. Here are the 15 most-viewed news stories on this year’s presentations, as reported in AAO 2019 Daily.

    1. Gene Therapy for Wet AMD? If phase 1/2a findings hold true, RGX-314 carries the potential to alleviate, or even eliminate, the burden of monthly anti-VEGF injections for patients with wet AMD, according to Jeffrey S. Heier, MD.
    2. Bag-in-the-Lens IOL Offer Advantages in Vitreoretinal Surgery. For phacovitrectomy, the BIL implant is the ideal choice, said Claus Eckardt, MD. 
    3. Top Ophthalmic Apps. Lisa Nijm, MD, JD, explained why you’ll want to use her 14 favorite apps.
    4. Risk Factors for Myopia Progression. The IRIS Registry is an ideal tool for evaluating myopia progression over time, said Xueya Cai, PhD.
    5. 3-D Printing for Ophthalmic Surgery. For surgical applications, 3-D printing “is not the future, it’s the present,” said Andrea A. Tooley, MD.
    6. Classifying Lamellar Macular Holes. Surgery for lamellar macular holes has long been controversial, but experts do agree on one thing, said Stanley Chang, MD: Better definitions are needed to distinguish between types of lamellar holes. With improved classification comes improved management.
    7. Managing Dysphotopsia. Patients’ high expectations for cataract surgery outcomes continue to be bedeviled by the visual phenomena known as dysphotopsias. Jack T. Holladay, MD, offered an overview of how to categorize and address these visual disturbances.
    8. Cataract Spotlight: Surgical Pearls. How to handle white cataract, iris prolapse, and the rock-hard nucleus.
    9. Tips and Tricks to Boost Success With PDR Surgery. Five key pearls from Maria H. Berrocal, MD.
    10. CXL in Patients With Keratoconus. Vishal Jhanji, MD, shared advice for maximizing the effects of crosslinking on corneal topography.
    11. Jackson Memorial Lecture Highlights AMD Research. Emily Y. Chew, MD, focused on nutrition, genetics, and artificial intelligence. (Includes a short video interview on each topic.)
    12. After MIGS, Which Meds? “We have new MIGS and we have new meds—so why can’t we put them together?” asked Alex A. Huang, MD, PhD.
    13. Identifying the Pre-Ectatic Cornea. Spotting corneal ectasias at the early stages takes great effort and acumen on the part of the physician,  said J. Bradley Randleman, MD.
    14. 2019 Kelman Lecture: The Case for the Artificial Iris. “Patients will appreciate this more than anything else you do,” said Kevin M. Miller, MD. (Includes a 5-minute intervew.)
    15. Undiagnosed Glaucoma — A Pressing U.S. Problem. There are lessons to learn from overseas programs, said Joshua R. Ehrlich, MD.

    Read more news from AAO 2019 and the Subspecialty Day meetings.