Editorial: Making a Difference

ESCRS PRESIDENT

Oliver Findl

MEDICAL EDITORS

Thomas Kohnen Chief Medical Editor

José Güell Paul Rosen

INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL BOARD

Noel Alpins (Australia), Bekir Aslan (Turkey), Roberto Bellucci (Italy), Hiroko Bissen-Miyajima (Japan), John Chang (China), Béatrice Cochener-Lamard (France), Oliver Findl (Austria), Nino Hirnschall (Austria), Soosan Jacob (India), Vikentia Katsanevaki (Greece), Daniel Kook (Germany), Boris Malyugin (Russia), Marguerite McDonald (USA), Cyres Mehta (India), Sorcha Ní Dhubhghaill (Ireland), Rudy Nuijts (The Netherlands), Leigh Spielberg (The Netherlands), Sathish Srinivasan (UK), Robert Stegmann (South Africa), Ulf Stenevi (Sweden), Marie-José Tassignon (Belgium), Manfred Tetz (Germany), Carlo Enrico Traverso (Italy)

Making a Difference

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. – Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Two years ago, in March 2020, it was becoming clear that the world faced a major threat in the form of a potential pandemic wrought by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In only a few months, the coronavirus spread to every corner of the world. No person or region was unaffected. Medicine is perhaps the most affected of all professions.

Two years later, the virus is still with us, continuing to spread and mutate. But the scientific community has responded with incredible alacrity. Thanks to the world’s research institutions, we now know a lot more about the virus—we have effective vaccines and antiviral treatments. But every time we think it is safe to relax and take off our masks, maybe go out for a meal, another outbreak causes us to reconsider.

The ESCRS was able to hold its annual meeting in person in Amsterdam in 2021 during a brief respite, with plenty of caution, lots of testing, masks at the ready. There was a palpable relief among those who attended, seeing friends and colleagues, attending a live conference that reminded us of better times. There was a feeling that we could adapt and function within the constraints of the pandemic. Sadly, the The pandemic has virus came rushing back in the form of the delta and helped us remember omicron variants, and we how interlinked we once again had to make are on a global scale. our February 2022 ESCRS Winter meeting virtual. Meanwhile, on the clinical front, we are still trying to solve the riddle of presbyopia treatment that restores the full range of vision without inducing unwanted photic effects. We report presentations from recent conferences that look at new IOL options, better outcomes assessment, and post-SMILE enhancements. We also look at some remarkable developments in gene therapy for retinal disease.

The pandemic has helped us remember how interlinked we are on a global scale. We face a huge issue in the form of global climate change. The cover story by Dr Soosan Jacob looks at what role ophthalmology can play towards the goal of a more sustainable approach to more efficient, less wasteful care delivery that will help meet the challenge on the global scale. This timely article considers how the objective of sustainability is best adopted when there is a maintained/improved standard of care, reduced cost, and shared goals of responsible behaviour. She highlights many changes made at the 104 branches of Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospitals in India that have reduced waste without compromising patient safety or clinical outcomes.

Dr Jacob’s article also highlights the value of telemedicine in ophthalmology. This includes large-scale screening of retinal conditions, remote consultations, the capture and quick transmission of slit-lamp images, and expanding educational opportunities while reducing the need to travel.

Dr Jacob reminds us we can all play a part in helping to make a more equitable world for subsequent generations that is not ravaged by climate change, loss of biodiversity, depleted natural resources, and the resulting challenges from these.