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  • The Top 15 Stories From AAO 2020 Virtual


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    From Friday, Nov. 13 through Sunday, Nov. 15, more than 8,700 registrants convened online for AAO 2020 Virtual. Each evening AAO 2020 Daily reported on some of the day’s highlights, and the 15 most-viewed news stories are listed below.

    Not yet registered? It’s not too late! Enjoy archived sessions from the live program, plus the on demand program, and earn up to 70 CME credits. The virtual meeting platform will be open until Feb. 15, 2021. Register today.

    Already Registered? The Academy encourages you to revisit the virtual meeting through Feb. 15, 2021 to see sessions you missed and rewatch sessions that you loved.

    The most-viewed AAO 2020 Daily news reports:

    1. Pearls From the Cataract Spotlight Session. Four experts presented their top pearls for managing complicated cataract cases as part of Sunday’s “Spotlight on Cataract: Complicated Phaco Cases - My Top 5 Pearls” (event code: Spo3V).
    2. What You Need to Know About Teprotumumab. The emergence of the new drug teprotumumab could fill an unmet need for patients with thyroid eye disease, according to Raymond S. Douglas, MD, PhD, during the Oculofacial Plastic Surgery Subspecialty Day’s opening session, “Welcome and Introductions–TED Talks” (Ocu01V_Ocu3V) on Friday. 
    3. IOP Elevation After Anti-VEGF Injections: The Glaucoma and Retina Perspectives. Malik Y. Kahook, MD, and Andrew A. Moshfeghi, MD, MBA, each provided his take on possible etiologies, who is most at risk, and strategies for managing patients who experience IOP rise after anti-VEGF injections during Friday’s “Glaucoma and Retina: Making the Most of the Hand You're Dealt” (Gla04V).
    4. Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic. James Chodosh, MD, MPH, has spearheaded the Academy’s coronavirus task force since March. He shared his insights on COVID-19 during Friday’s “Infection: Beating Back the Bugs” (Cor05V) at Cornea Subspecialty Day.
    5. Contact Lenses to Prevent Myopia Progression. Amy K. Hutchinson, MD, discussed the use of contact lenses for myopia control  during “Preventing Myopia Progression in the Pediatric Patient” (Sym03V) on Saturday.
    6. How to Close a Macular Hole Using Subretinal Fluid. Carsten H. Meyer, MD, described and provided supporting data for a hydrodissection approach that shows promise for closing chronic macular holes during Retina Subspecialty Day’s first session, “Welcome and Introductions –Vitreoretinal Surgeries, Part 1” (Ret01V_Ret02V) on Friday. 
    7. What’s New With Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy. Gemmy Chui Ming Cheung, MBBChir, FRCOphth, provided an update on polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy diagnosis and pathogenesis, which capped off “Retina Around the World” (Sym44V), a Saturday symposium led by a panel of international experts.
    8. Update on Avacincaptad for Geographic Atrophy. Avacincaptad pegol continues to show promise in slowing the growth rate of geographic atrophy, said Donald J. D’Amico, MD, as he presented 18-month results from the GATHER1 study during Friday’s “Late Breaking Developments, Part 1” (Ret10V) at Retina Suspecialty Day.
    9. Pearls for Ocular Host-vs.-Graft Disease. Sandeep Jain, MD, offered his top tips for managing ocular host-vs.-graft disease, which occurs in 30% to 70% of patients after bone marrow transplants. This was one of five presentations in Friday’s “Ocular Surface Inflammation: Keeping It Cool” (Cor03V) at Cornea Subspecialty Day. 
    10. Private Equity, Medical Real Estate, and COVID-19. What does the pandemic mean for physicians who want to monetize their practice’s value? Robert E. Wiggins, MD, MHA, roundtable followed by a Q&A during “Private Equity and the Transformation of Ophthalmic Practice: What I Need to Know” (482V) which was part of Saturday’s AAOE program.
    11. ROP Classification Set to Undergo Update. ICROP3 Committee Chair Michael F. Chiang, MD, reported on the reclassification work currently underway for retinopathy of prematurity. He spoke during Friday’s “Avoiding Headaches With ROP in 2020” (Ped03V) at the Pediatric Ophthalmology Subspecialty Day.
    12. A Conversation With Malcolm Gladwell. “The single easiest, cheapest thing we could do to improve the quality of life and the economy in the United States would be to double the NIH budget,” said Malcolm Gladwell during a conversation with Ophthalmology Editor-in-Chief Stephen D. McLeod, MD, at Sunday’s “Closing General Session” (Spo6V).
    13. Acute Vision Loss in the Elderly: When to Treat and When to Refer. Sophia M. Chung, MD, offered guidance for when to treat and when to refer in cases of acute vision loss in elderly patients. This was one of six presentations during Saturday’s “A Practical Approach to Neuro-Ophthalmic Problems: When to Treat and When to Refer” (Sym09V).
    14. Dos and Don’ts in Pediatric Uveitis. Children with uveitis typically present much later in the disease course and with more significant complications than adults. Russell W. Read, MD, PhD, discussed a list of considerations for managing such patients (Uve02.04 from the Uveitis Subspecialty Day’s On Demand program). 
    15. 3-D Visualization of the Posterior Vitreous With OCT and AI. Kyoko Ohno-Matsui, MD, PhD, shared images obtained via a combination of ultra-widefield optical coherence tomography and artificial intelligence during Friday’s "Imaging" session (Ret05V) at the Retina Subspecialty Day.

    Want to watch the sessions highlighted above? If you are registered for AAO 2020 Virtual, you can revisit the virtual meeting platform through Feb. 15, 2021 and watch recordings of the live program, as well as the on demand program

    Watch recordings of the live program. Log in to the virtual meeting platform, then from the Lobby screen: 1) select “Sessions” from the top navigation bar; 2) click “Agenda” on the drop-down menu; and 3) you can either search by day (select the “Friday,” “Saturday,” or “Sunday” tabs) or search the whole live program (select the “All Sessions” tab).

    Watch sessions from the on demand program. Log in to the virtual meeting platform, then from the Lobby screen: 1) select “On Demand” from the top navigation bar; 2) click “On Demand Presentations” from the drop-down menu; and 3) click the relevant meeting for a list of On Demand presentations.

    Read more news from AAO 2020 Virtual.