A first Spanish chairs the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery

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The eye surgeon Jose Luis Güell, president-elect of the society Europe's largest eye
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Prepare the 13th winter meeting of the Society to be held in February in Rome with crucial issues such as the use of stem cells, genetic manipulation and ocular prosthesis

Dr. Jose Luis Güell, unit coordinator and corneal refractive surgery for Ocular Microsurgery Institute (IMO) in Barcelona, has become the first Spanish who chairs the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ESCRS). The specialist, who served as secretary of the Society between 2003 and 2007, was elected unanimously by the Board of Directors of the Company last September in Berlin.

The ESCRS, most important ophthalmic society of Europe, aims to disseminate and train its European ophthalmologists through the two major annual conferences and many organized activities with national societies in Europe. In addition, these meetings allow the sharing of knowledge and inter aim to improve the quality of care in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe, and other participating countries in Asia and the Middle East. Also some attitudes and encourage good practice in the practice to prevent infection and prevent disease emergence.

A presidency with crucial challenges
The thirteenth meeting of the ESCRS winter, to be held from 6 to 8 February in Rome, will be the first to have a Spanish ophthalmologist and president-elect of the Society. The meeting will bring together 1,500 specialists from across Europe and will table key challenges of the specialty, and the latest advances in stem cell tissue culture, genetic manipulation and artificial cornea implants (keratoprosthesis), replacing the cornea. The latter technique is new to many European countries that have not yet been implemented.

Transplants without rejection and without reliance on donor quality
The use and applications of artificial cornea will be one of the central themes of the meeting of ESCRS. The cell culture techniques and recent advances in genetic engineering are making substantial progress in this field.

Thanks to the lamellar surgery, transplants can be made selective, by replacing only the damaged tissue and respecting the original structure of the cornea. For now, such transplants have worked only in superficial layers of the eye and the most posterior, but continue their study to encompass all layers of the cornea. To do this, plus the ability of the surgeon, are helpful new automated cutting devices, especially those based on femtosecond laser technology, allowing greater precision in cutting. The development and success of corneal tissue cultures are crucial to minimize the risk of rejection and greater independence of donations.

For the first time, attendees at this meeting may attend a series of direct interventions, made from three hospitals and clinics in Rome. Surgeons are mostly Italian and some international, including Dr. Jose Luis Güell, president-elect of the ESCRS.