The centenary of the meeting of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology featured the exhibition ‘Miradas, Visión y Arte’ by the Jorge Alió Foundation
The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Congress of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology (SEO) was highlighted by Dr. Jorge Alió giving Castroviejo Award Lecture. This award was established in 1979 with the aim of distinguishing the services and merits carried out for Spanish ophthalmology. Thus, to honour this eminent Spanish surgeon who transformed corneal transplant surgery in the first half of the 20th century, Prof. Dr. Jorge Alió, distinguished with this award in 2023, gave the prestigious conference ‘Refractive surgery of the crystalline lens of the cataract’, in which he summarised its over 150 years of evolution.
“First we started looking for a solution to myopia through the elimination of the transparent crystalline lens, until today, where the crystalline dysfunction syndrome, as described by me, produces a progressive involution of the crystalline lens that is accompanied by a visual decline in the patient that can be restored through surgery and the use of special lenses. It is worth highlighting the new accommodative lenses that have been developed thanks to studies carried out for over 18 years in Alicante, in cooperation with a Dutch company of advanced intraocular lenses”, commented Dr. Alió.
At the 100th SEO Congress, a tribute was paid to the previous presidents of the congresses and of the SEO, along with a book on its history. At the event, held from 25th to 27th September at IFEMA Madrid with more than 2,600 attendees, the Professor of Ophthalmology and Honorary Researcher at the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche also shared his experience of the eye disease keratoconus by giving the refresher course ‘My patient has keratoconus: how should I manage it? It should be noted that Alió is one of the leading international experts in this field, thanks to his innovative corneal transplant techniques and advanced therapies with stem cells and regenerative surgery of the ocular surface.
Jorge Alió, who is ranked 12th of the 100 most influential and inspiring ophthalmologists in the world in ‘The Ophthalmologist Power List 2023’, being the only Spanish doctor present, also had the opportunity to update the knowledge of the attendees with the course on ‘Techniques of explanation and exchange of intraocular lenses’ including his talk on ‘Techniques of explanation and exchange of pseudophakic posterior chamber lenses’. “Both courses are based on our extensive experience in the subject, several published books and the great experience accumulated over 20 years of practice of these techniques, including many of the innovations made as a result of our research”, mentioned Dr Alió.
Likewise, the Jorge Alió Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, of which he is the honorary president, successfully exhibited the exhibition ‘Miradas, Visión y Arte’ with almost fifty works from the biennial painting competition ‘Miradas’, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023. This is the second time that an exhibition by the Jorge Alió Foundation has been present at an SEO congress, as it was previously present at the 74th edition held in Alicante in 1998, the year of the creation of this cultural initiative. “Since then, it has brought together more than 1,000 artists with more than 200 prizes awarded, constituting the only thematic collection in the world on vision and the gaze. All of this using vision as a platform for meeting with society”, said Jorge Alió.
Nearly 27 countries from all over the world have already participated in the national and international editions of the ‘Miradas’ contest, which aims to raise awareness through art about the importance of caring for eye health to prevent eye diseases. For more than 19 years, their works have been featured monthly on the cover of the ‘Journal Refractive Surgery’ magazine. They even serve as illustrations for books and covers of scientific events, being the annual emblem of the Alicante International Refractive Congress (ARI). Recently it was also in the Infanta Margarita Museum of the Royal National Academy of Medicine of Spain (RANME).
The aim of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology is to offer quality continuing education to ophthalmologists and to care for the visual health of the population. It encompasses and brings together all the knowledge acquired and learnt from the different societies specialising in different eye pathologies in Spain.
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