This year’s Cornea and Contact Lens Society (CCLS) conference is back with the two-day format at a slightly early time of the year from Friday 1 to Saturday 2 March, with a welcome function on the Thursday evening on 28 Feb, at the Novotel Rotorua Lakeside in Rotorua.

“This year we have a jam-packed schedule and have opted to divide the congress into themes, designed to provide a more inclusive lecture offering for practitioners in ophthalmic and optometric care,” said CCLS president Jagrut Lallu. “The workshops are designed for beginners and we will also be looking to support other courses after the congress.”

Lallu said as well as members he also hoped to see a large turnout among his ophthalmology colleagues this year and warmly welcomed any optometrists who may not have attended a CCLS conference before.

The 2019 programme

This year’s programme is designed with the interest of both optometrists and ophthalmologists in mind and includes an excellent group of keynote speakers, he said. “Attendees can expect to leave the conference with lots of relevant, practical information to improve and support them in their practice.”

Keynote speakers include Professor Graham Barrett (Australia), inventor of the Barrett Formula for IOL calculation; Dr Ian Flitcroft (Ireland), a paediatric ophthalmologist with a special interest in myopia management; Mark Koszek (Australia), who specialises in contact lenses and ocular surface disease; and Dr Art Epstein (US), who has extensive experience in dry eye, anterior segment and clinical research (see following story, Meet the speakers, for more).

As well as the main presentation, there are four different workshops to choose from at CCLS19: Scleral lenses: first principles to high tech; The zen of dry eye with Dr Epstein; Advanced contact lens fitting with Paul Rose and others; and Practical myopia management and case discussion.

There’s no such thing as a CCLS conference without a friendly social element and this year is no exception. As well as the welcome function on the Thursday evening, the committee has planned a relaxed Friday night dinner (included as part of your registration fee) at The Terrace Kitchen, just a short walk from the Novotel, offering an opportunity to catch up and network with colleagues in a relaxed, informal setting. The conference proper starts on Friday 1 March with breakfast at 8am in the trade area (also included), while Saturday’s sessions kick off at 8.30am. The conference ends on Saturday at 5pm.

For more information or to register, visit www.contactlens.org.nz