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Though the meeting’s theme of “NEXUS – Connecting Everyone and Everything” may seem ambitious, the ambience on the floor showed that it is anything but. From the steady, dull roar emanating from the Exhibition Hall throughout Day 1 to the impressive slate of well-attended sessions and wet labs, everything at APACRS 2023 feels hot. It feels alive — and there’s far more to it than the sticky equatorial heat of the Singaporean summer.

Welcome reception sets the bar

After APACRS 2022’s triumphant return to in-person meetings was dampened by hiccups and travel disruptions due to South Korea’s postpandemic visa rollout, APACRS 2023 feels like the true coming out party for Asia-Pacific cataract and refractive surgery.

This was no more apparent than during the welcome reception in the exhibition hall, where the conversation flowed as freely as the drinks. A little too freely, to your correspondent’s dismay — after one beer and a brief round of photo-snapping, a mangled bundle of disconnected tubes at the bar signaled that there would not be a second.

But this unexpectedly rapid consumption of the venue’s alcohol only reinforced the feeling that APACRS is back in a big way. A vibrant array of saris and sarongs mingled with suits and skirts. Hands and arms gesticulated wildly as attendees engaged in animated and often feverish conversation in scenes reminiscent of the city’s famed hawker stalls and alleyway eateries. Your correspondent was nearly trampled underfoot by a group of three-metertall performers clad in stilts and traditional Chinese opera costumes working the crowd for photo ops. And this was just the beginning.

Day 1 scientific highlights

It wasn’t all party, though. Day 1 was also chock full of superb sessions on all things anterior segment. The day started off strong with a variety of masterclasses and scientific programs featuring research and updates in all of the latest in the cataract and refractive space. Among these were rapid-fire symposia on angle closure surgery, infectious keratitis and glaucoma vs. myopia-associated optic neuropathy, which are covered later in this issue.

Masterclasses on Day 1 covered all of the classics and more. Traditional cataract topics like phacoemulsification and IOLs were well-represented, but the next generation of ophthalmology also made an appearance.

The ever-charming Dr. Ronald Yeoh hosted a particularly interesting series of presentations entitled “What They Don’t Teach You in Residency” on a variety of trending topics, like worklife balance and innovation. And, of course, it wouldn’t be an ophthalmic conference in the 2020s without MIGS.

World-renowned expert Prof. Chelvin Sng moderated a packed masterclass called “Mastering MIGS Complications,” a reflection of the ubiquitous nature of these tiny devices in the modern glaucoma landscape.

Looking to Day 2

Day 1 was just the beginning, and Day 2 promises to pack just as much heat into its offerings. The beating heart of any APACRS annual meeting is the official Opening Ceremony and prestigious Lim Lecture, delivered this year by the unparalleled Prof. Gerd Aufarth of Germany, which is going down at 9:00 am.

There are also plenty of symposia to watch out for, including the Prof. Johan Hutauruk-chaired “The New Black in Presbyopia Correction.” With presbyopia rates in Asia on the rise, this is sure to be a Day 2 highlight for doctors seeing these patients daily.

And, of course, no APACRS annual meeting would be complete without the perennial favorite Film Festival Symposium and Awards Ceremony. Last year’s in Seoul was a raucous affair that played out in front of a full house, and there’s no reason to believe that the 2023 version won’t be even rowdier.

These highlight sessions will be reported on extensively in Day 2’s CAKE Post by your Media MICE reporters in the field, so be sure to keep a lookout.

It’s been quite the opening day here in Singapore for APACRS 2023 — and while the stage has been set for an epic three days of cataract and refractive goodness, the best is surely still yet to come.