X Keratomileusis Study Group (KMSG)
International Congress 

February, 17-20 2004 
Panama City (PANAMA)

 

With the Highlights of Ophthalmology auspice under the coordination of Dr. Samuel Boyd and with the participation of relevant experts from different countries in the world, a deep revision of international refractive surgery was made. 

From February 17th to February 20th in the Panamanian Caribbean the “X International Congress  of Keratomileusis Study Group” was celebrated under the coordination of Dr. Samuel Boyd and with the Highlights of Ophthalmology auspice, resulting a big success in the scientific part and in the social events. The person in charge of the scientific direction was Dr. Jairo E. Hoyos (KMSG President) and coordinated by Dr. Melania Cigales and Dr. Mª Teresa Iradier, members of the KMSG Congress Committee. Because of the privileged location of Republic of Panama, the assistants enjoyed the unforgettable Panama Canal and variety of cultures, restaurants, night entertainment, hotels, beaches and historical places. Also the famous carnivals of Panama took place in the last days of tha congress.

 

In the morning of the 17th,  the activities started with a Golf Competition coordinated by Dr. Luis Salvá (Spain).  In the afternoon a welcome cocktail took place in Hotel El Panama.  In the 18th Dr. Samuel Boyd (Congress Director), Dr. Jairo E. Hoyos (KMSG President) and Dr. Miguel Wong (President of the Panamanian Society of Ophthalmology) opened the Congress. After this, the scientific sessions started with symposiums organized and coordinated by relevant members of the KMSG.

 

In Symposium on PRK, LASEK and LASIK  coordinated by  Dr. Melania Cigales (Spain) and Dr. Samuel Boyd (Panama), we had the opportunity to know jobs about how to improve the ablation profiles and the results in teenager patients and also in kids with anisometropi and accommodative strabismus. Also the problem of the IOP determination after a corneal refractive surgery was exposed.  The KMSG members agreed to make a multicenter study coordinated by Drs. Enrique Aramendia and Mercedes Zabaleta (Spain). In the hyperopia field the presentations of Dr. Isaac Lipshitz (Israel) about conductive keratoplasty  and Dr. Klaus Ditzen (Germany) about hyperopic LASIK were exceptional.

 

During the Symposium and Round Table of  Phakic Lenses under the coordination of Dr. Mª Teresa Iradier (Spain), international experts as Dr. Guillermo Avalos (Mexico), Fernando Castanera (Spain), Daniel Elies (Spain), Jairo Hoyos (Spain), Salah Mahjoub (Tunisia), Jose J. Martinez Toldos (Spain), Felix Perez (Venezuela) and Carlos Verges (Spain), debating the most burning and current subjects of this refractive technique. Everyone gave its opinion and experience about the indications and characteristics of the different models of phakic lenses (Artisan/Artiflex, PRL, ICL, GBR/Vivarte, Z-SAL,...), they also talked about how to manage short and long time complications.  This act was valued so much by the audience.

 

The scientific sessions of the first day ended with an interesting Symposium on Phacorefractive and Microincision coordinated by Dr. Luis F. Vejarano (Colombia), where the last advances in microincision techniques were debated, counting on experts as Dr. Jose J. Martinez-Toldos (Spain), Dr. Carlos Verges (Spain), Dr. Arturo Pérez-Arteaga (Mexico), Dr. Fernando Castanera (Spain) and Dr. Daniel Elies (Spain).  Dr. Vejarano exposed his personal technique. At the end of this day we enjoyed with a visit to Panama Canal and Miraflores Locks.

 

In the morning of the 19th, the session began with an interesting Symposium on Complications coordinated by Dr. Enrique Suarez and Dr. Felix Perez from Venezuela. They talked about complications in relation of infections, ectasia and LASIK surgery, but maybe the complication that awaken more interest was the zonular dehiscense  after PRL implantation, presented by Dr. Hoyos. After the symposium a Round Table about corneal ectasia  and subclinic keratoconus  took place.  This table was coordinated by Dr. Alfredo Amigo and Dr Maite Iradier from Spain, where interesting clinic cases were discussed by a panel of experts as Drs Carmen Barraquer, Alejandro De La Torre from Colombia, Carlos Verges, Daniel Elies and Enrique Aramendia from Spain and  interesting conclusions to choose patients for LASIK and to manage iatrogenic ectasia were made.

 

One of the most emotive act during this congress was the KMSG award 2004.  This year the award was given to Dr. José Miguel Varas Torres from Guayaquil - Ecuador, as a recognition of his job in the world of ophthalmology, specially in refractive surgery. Dr. Carmen Barraquer made a presentation of Dr. Varas, whose she knows since his formation as ophthalmologist in Clinica Barraquer de America. To end this act, Dr. Varas presented his “José Ignacio Barraquer 2004 Lecture” with the tittle “The chase for prediction in refractive surgery”.

 

The scientific sessions of this second day finished with the Symposium on Aberrometry coordinated by Dr. Jose Miguel Varas (Ecuador), where we could listen important scientific advances in the aberrometry field with the different aberrometers and laser systems.  After this, an interesting discussion table took place.

 

In the evening we went to the gala dinner at “Mi Pueblito”, where we could contemplate the houses and customs of the indian tribes of Panama. At the beginning of the dinner the Poster Awards was celebrated.  The “Best Poster- KMSG 2004” was the poster tittled “Ultrasound biomicroscopic study of Phakic Refractive Lens (PRL)” by Drs Jairo E. Hoyos, Melania Cigales, Fernando Castanera, Jairo Hoyos-Chacón and Beatriz Pinalla (Barcelona - Spain). The “Honorable mention – KMSG 2004” was for the poster tittled “Removal of angle-fixated phakic lenses 13 years after surgery: Causes, management and results” presented by Dr. Mª Teresa Iradier (Madrid - Spain). The Golf competition award was also given to the winner Dr. Juan Manuel García (Mexico). The excelent food and popular music made the evening unforgettable for all the assistants who danced until early morning.

 

The last day of the congress it began with a current subject, Symposium on Presbyopia coordinated by Dr. Roberto Albertazzi (Argentina) and Dr. Bobby Maddox (USA).  Escleral expansion techniques were discussed (Dr. Jose Luis Bulacio – Argentina- and Dr. Maddox), corneal techniques to get prolate corneas (Dr. Avalos –México-, Dr. Mostaza –Argentina- and Dr. Oliveros –Colombia-)  and accommodative and multifocal intraocular lenses (Dr. Castanera – Spain-), This symposium closed with a  round table where the panelists talked about the experience with presbyopic surgery in which KMSG members discussed through the use of the KMSG Hotline.

 

After that, it was the Symposium on new techniques and technologies coordinated by Dr. Carlos Verges (Spain) and Dr. Carmen Barraquer (Colombia).  They presented new material lenses, intraestromales lenses, flap creation with Intralase (Femtosecond laser) and new  artificial implant of  iridian diafragma .

 

At the end of the congress, it was the Symposium on lamellar keratoplasty  coordinated by Dr. Salah Majoub (Tunisia), where international experts as Dr. Carmen Barraquer (Colombia), Dr. Robert Schultze (USA), Dr. Fabian Vasquez (Colombia) and Dr Majoub (Tunisia) showed their special techniques and results of this surgical technique.

 

It was the big interest in the ophthalmologic community the Ferrara Rings Course directed by Dr. Roberto Albertazzi (Argentina), with the colaboration of Drs. Jose L. Bulacio and Luis M. Mostaza from Argentina. This course had 2 parts: theoric and practical part.  The second part was a wet lab where the assistants could practice this surgical technique that opens a new treatment for keratoconus, pellucid marginal degeneration  and secondary ectasia  in refractive corneal surgery.

 

The KMSG board of directors wants to thank Highlights of Ophthalmology for the excellent organization of this event and to thank specially Ana Mª Torres (Colombia) for her valuable help in the organization of this congress. Thank all the KMSG members for their assistance of this X Congress and KMSG board already wants to invite you from July 9th to July 10th 2005 to the XI KMSG International Congress in Chennai (India), directed by Dr. Amar Agarwal.

 

PICTURES