Thiru. Ma. Subramanian, Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Government of Tamilnadu, inaugurated IIRSI 2022, the 37th Intraocular Implant and Refractive Surgery Convention, and India’s biggest platform focused on treating preventive blindness, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, and refractive eye surgery. This two-day annual convention of IIRSI, an association of ophthalmologists in India, has attracted the participation of over 2500 ophthalmologists from across the country, and over 200 expert speakers and participants from abroad.
Padma Shri Prof. Dr Mahipal S Sachdev, Dr. Lalit Verma, Chairman, All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) Scientific Committee, Dr. Namrata Sharma, Professor of Ophthalmology at AIIMS Delhi, and Dr. Ragini Parekh, President, Intraocular Implant and Refractive Society of India (IIRSI), and Prof. Amar Agarwal, Secretary General – IIRSI were among the dignitaries present at the inaugural session.
The convention will host sessions on ‘Path Forward In Cataract and Refractive Surgery’, ophthalmic advances, ophthalmic surgery, Yo-ophthalmology, among others. There will be live surgical telecast sessions from Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital; symposiums on subjects such as anterior segment, and challenging cases – besides, a special session of Indian Society of Cornea and Kerato Refractive Surgeons.
The convention will also feature foreign faculty lectures, sessions for young ophthalmologists, hands-on Wet Lab courses, ophthalmic premier league competition, court martial in ophthalmology, IIRSI film festival award show, IFFA, and IIRSI photography competition. IIRSI 2022 will witness distribution of awards to expert ophthalmologists from India and abroad.
Delivering his inaugural address, Thiru. Ma. Subramanian, Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Government of Tamilnadu said, “There is a huge prevalence of eye disorders in India. According to a World Health Organization, the country has an estimated 12 million blind people and an additional 450 million people who require vision correction. India leads globally in terms of number of people per million who are visually impaired. However, a big chunk of eye problems and blindness are preventable with early diagnosis and treatment. India needs to invest many times more in creating eyecare infrastructure to help reach the benefits of scientific advances to every citizen.”
“South India, especially Tamil Nadu, has always been a forerunner in healthcare specialties including ophthalmology. The state hosts many of the premier eye institutes from where aspiring ophthalmologists embedded with skills and advanced technology pass out and serve different parts of the country. Conferences like IIRSI play a very important role in enhancing the skills of Indian eye surgeons. This platform can enable the doctors to learn and have an edge in treating patients with the latest technology. It can also be instrumental in the development of novel methods in restoration of vision and management of chronic eye complications” added Thiru. Ma. Subramanian.
In his comments, Prof. Amar Agarwal, Secretary General – IIRSI and Chairman, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, said that the annual convention of IIRSI has become a pivotal event in the ophthalmology calendar of India centered on global ophthalmic innovations. This convention will provide a platform for the aspiring surgeons to know different ways of tackling the difficult situations of cataract and its surgery through interaction between them. IIRSI conventions have been instrumental in significantly increasing the capabilities and offerings of the eye care sector in India in terms of diagnostics and treatment.
He added that over the years, there have been several advances in intraocular lens implant, one of the most common eye surgeries, and LASIK surgery, which is performed with laser to remove a defined amount of tissue from cornea, a part of the eye. “We have made the sessions related to these areas more interesting by making them interactive. Programmes like ophthalmic premier league, court martial etc., are the examples of disseminating the knowledge in an interesting manner with the involvement of participants. The live surgery shows are interesting parts of the conference and offer an opportunity for the participants to understand the usage of best equipment, and the surgical techniques by experienced surgeons. The Wet Lab sessions will provide hands-on experience for them on novel surgical techniques. I am sure that all doctors will benefit from this interactive session with the eminent Indian and international ophthalmologists.”
The awardees from India include Dr Jeewan Titiyal and Dr Himanshu Mehta will receive J. Agarwal Global Icon Gold Medal, and Dr. Daljit Singh Gold Medal respectively, while Dr Namrata Sharma will be presented with Dr. Mrs. T. Agarwal Gold Medal, and Dr. Kamaljeet Singh, with Om Parkash Gold Medal. Dr. Mohan Rajan will be awarded with the Subodh Agrawal Gold Medal. Other Indian awardees are Dr. Arun Kshetrapal, Dr. Ashiyana Nariani, Dr. Mohak Shah, Dr. Samar Basak, Dr. Saurabh Luthra, Dr. Sheetal Brar, and Dr. K. Shreesh Kumar.
The international awardees are Dr. Adi Abulafia, Jesusalem; Dr. Ahmed Assaf, Egypt; Dr. Cathleen McCabe, Dr. Cynthia Matossian, Dr. P Dee G Stephenson, Dr. Jack Parker, Dr. Richard Davidson from USA; Dr. Lamis Baydoun, Netherlands; Dr. Sergio Canabrava, Brazil, and Dr. Sheraz Daya, UK.
