On behalf of the Board and Officers of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons it is my great pleasure to welcome you to Vienna for the 36th Congress of the ESCRS. Our extensive scientific programme is aimed at cataract and refractive surgeons of all levels of experience, and includes numerous expert symposia and nearly 200 instructional and surgical skills training courses.
The 2018 Ridley Medal Lecture will be given by Rudy Nuijts during the Opening Ceremony at 10.00 on Sunday morning and the title of his lecture is ’Facts First!’. This year will also see the introduction of the new Heritage Lecture on Monday morning before the Main Symposium. The lecture will be given by Thomas Neuhann on the history of capsulorhexis.
This year’s Congress will host the first ever Free Paper Forum. Sessions will take place in a room which has been specifically designed to provide a platform for informative, productive and relaxed interaction enabling delegates to experience free papers in a more stimulating way. As a Society, we are always looking at ways to evolve and I believe that the Free Paper Forum will be one of the highlights of this year’s meeting.
On Wednesday the ‘Best of the Best’ review session will take a look at some of the most interesting ideas that will emerge over the coming days, and is the perfect way to round off the Congress.
Our app programme will be a useful guide for those wishing to navigate their way through the Congress using the highlighted programme tracks. The tracks include Cataract Complications & Special Cases, Cornea, Glaucoma, Laser Refractive Surgery, Symposia and Young Ophthalmologists.
With so much on offer it will be impossible to attend every session. However, if you log on to the Education Portal on the ESCRS website you can access the sessions and didactic courses on ESCRS On Demand and ESCRS iLearn, as well as discover a wide range of video content and other materials.
A scientific programme of this size requires a lot of planning, and I would like to thank the members of the Programme and Education committees for their continued hard work. I would also like to thank EuCornea, EURETINA, the European Glaucoma Society, WSPOS, and other societies and individuals who have contributed to the organisation of a scientific session or course.
We hope you will find this Congress rewarding and enjoy your time in Vienna.