Hon Justice R. Mahadevan, Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Inaugurates IIRSI 2024, India’s Premier Convention on Eye Surgery

Chennai, July 2024: The two-day Indian Intraocular Implant & Refractive Surgery Convention 2024 (IIRSI Convention), a flagship annual event of Intraocular Implant & Refractive Society, India (IIRSI), began today with the participation of over 4000 ophthalmologists from across the country, and about 50 expert speakers, including international luminaries in the fields of intraocular implantation (IOL) and LASIK & refractive surgery.

Honourable Justice R. Mahadevan, Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Chennai inaugurated the convention in the presence of Dr. Jagat Ram, President, Prof. Dr. Amar Agarwal, Secretary General, and other office bearers of IIRSI.

Organised in association with Sustain Eye, a global coalition of eye societies, this national event aims at promoting the latest developments in ophthalmic care and surgery for the benefit of ophthalmologists across the country. The convention includes invited lectures, live surgery, hands-on Wetlab, Ophthalmic Premier League, IIRSI Film Festival Awards (IFFA), IIRSI photography competition, court martial in ophthalmology, symposiums, sessions for young ophthalmologists, and many other activities. The event also features a trade area for ophthalmic materials and equipment.

Addressing the convention, Justice R. Mahadevan emphasised that vision care is crucial as it directly impacts one’s quality of life, pursuits of knowledge acquisition, productivity, and social participation. However, there is inadequate public awareness about the measures needed to protect vision health. Consequently, there has been a sharp rise in various eye health issues, including refractive errors. Adding to the problem are environmental pollution and lifestyle changes, such as the overuse of digital gadgets for work and entertainment. Nevertheless, it is heartening to note that ophthalmic science and technology are making great strides, and the noble field of ophthalmology continues to produce experts. The need of the hour is to harness the power of technology and human expertise and reach the unreached. This is precisely why professionals from different subspecialties in ophthalmology should meet and stay abreast of developments. In this context, I am delighted to see the overwhelming participation of eye specialists in this annual convention, which is truly a landmark event in promoting useful solutions for vision health.

In his remarks Prof. Amar Agarwal, Secretary General, IIRSI, and Chairman, Dr Agarwals Group of Eye Hospitals said, “We are happy that this annual convention continues to grow in size and significance year after year, and elicits the interest of ophthalmologists within and outside India. The two-day conference comprises valuable programmes and live surgical session telecasts that will make sure that the participants will learn new techniques in cataract and refractive surgery. They can gain hands-on experience in the Wetlab courses on several key areas that will equip them to practice with confidence. Their interactions with global experts will clarify their doubts.”

The felicitation message from the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M.K. Stalin was read out at the inaugural session of the event. Assuring his support for the convention and the future endeavours of IIRSI, the chief minister said that Chennai, a city renowed for its leading eye care institutions, was indeed privileged to host this national event. “The convention’s robust lineup, including invited lectures, live surgery demonstrations, hands-on Wetlabs, the Ophthalmic Premier League, the IIRSI Film Festival Awards, and the photography competition, reflects the breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise that will be shared,” he noted.

IIRSI Convention 2024 has over 40 scientific sessions on topics such as cataract and refractive surgery, ophthalmic advances, pediatric ophthalmology, oculoplasty, and glaucoma. The event will honour Indian and global ophthalmologists with awards for their contributions to their specialisation. The international awardees are Dr. Nicole R Fram from the USA, the recipient of the J. Agarwal Global Icon Gold Medal, Dr. Andres Benatti from Argentina, Dr. Christopher S Sales, USA, Dr. David Gunn, Australia, Dr. Divya Srikumaran, USA, Dr. Durval M. Carvalho Jr, Brazil, Dr. Ike Ahmed, Canada, Dr. Jeff Hale Pettey, USA, Dr. Laura De Benito Llopis, UK, Dr. Lisa K Feulner, USA, Dr. Morgan Micheletti, USA, Dr. Naveen K Rao, USA, Dr. Radhika Rampat, UK, Dr. Shady Awwad, Lebanon, Dr. Sumithra Khandelwal, USA, Dr. Ticiana De Francesco, Brazil, Dr. Yassine Daoud, USA, and Dr. Yuna Rapoport, USA.

The Indian awardees are Dr. Satanshu Mathur, to be awarded with the IIRSI President Gold Medal, Dr. Rohit Om Parkash with the Dr. Daljit Singh Gold Medal, Dr. Prema Padmanabhan with the Dr. Mrs. T. Agarwal Gold Medal, Dr. Rajesh Fogla with the Om Parkash Gold Medal, and Dr. Santosh Honavar with the Subodh Agrawal Gold Medal. Furthermore, the IIRSI Gold Medal winners are Dr. Inder Mohan Rustogi from Haryana, Dr. Rishi Swarup from Hyderabad, and Dr. Prafulla K Maharana from Delhi.

In addition, the event will also have ophthalmic photography competition and awards. The photography categories include external photography, smartphone photography, slit lamp photography, fundus photography, and imaging. The convention will also honour ophthalmologists who took part in the IIRSI Film Festival Award Show 2024 with their short films on educative ophthalmic films under different categories.

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