An Exciting Year 2023 Awaits!

Dear MSO members, 

The year 2022 is coming to an end, and I hope that it has been kind to you. The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly taken a toll on all of us, physically and mentally. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones to this pandemic, and also to the victims of other disasters in recent months such as the Batang Kali landslide tragedy and the nationwide flood situation which we are experiencing now. We hope the valuable lessons learned from these events will prepare us better for the future.

For the coming New Year, Malaysia will be playing host to the 38th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress, which will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 23 – 26 February 2023. We look forward to being host to our local and foreign delegates, with exciting scientific symposium topics as well as the various social events planned. To all our members and trainees, please do not miss out on this opportunity to attend this regional conference right here in our own backyard! We will also be having our MSO Annual General Meeting (AGM) during this congress and elections for the next term of Committee members shall take place this time.

MSO will also be organising the 37th edition of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ophthalmic Congress (MSJOC), which will be taking place in the beautiful city of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah from 21 – 23 July 2023. Expect a comprehensive and interesting scientific program during this meeting, but do take the time as well to explore the natural wonders surrounding this enchanting island of Borneo.

Let us usher in the year 2023 with renewed hope and enthusiasm for better days ahead. A very Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

ARTICLES

11th COSC UM- APOTS OPHTHALMIC TRAUMA MEETING 2022

Renowned ophthalmologists from around the world recently gathered in Kuala Lumpur on the 17th & 18th September 2022 to discuss prevention, education and management of eye and periocular injuries. The conference was attended by 622 ophthalmologists and allied health care workers over the 2-day conference held at the Connexion Conference & Event Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The conference saw a large turnout consisting of 544 local and 78 international participants with special interest in the field of ophthalmic trauma.

Ophthalmic Trauma comprises of injuries of the eyeball and the adjacent structures such as the eyelids, tear ducts and the eye socket (orbit) and the face. These injuries are not only blinding but disfiguring and cause immense morbidity to the affected individual affecting their productivity, livelihood in addition to immense costs in the management, rehabilitation and in most cases significant financial compensation as well.

This meeting, chaired by Professor Dr Hajjah Norlina Ramli (Head of Ophthalmology Department, Universiti Malaya) and Professor Dr Natarajan S. (President of the Asia Pacific Ophthalmic Trauma Society, APOTS), brought together prominent leaders in ophthalmic trauma from around the globe which included Associate Professor Dr Fasika Woreta (President of the American Society of Ophthalmic Trauma, ASOT), Professor Dr Ma ZhiZong (Chinese representative of the International Society of Ocular Trauma, ISOT), Professor Dr Ashok Grover (President of the Ocular Trauma Society of India, OTSI) and Datuk Dr Hajjah Nor Fariza Ngah (Head of Ophthalmology Services, Ministry of Health of Malaysia).

TO THE FUTURE PHACO KINGS AND QUEENS

I started my ophthalmology gazettement at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) in January 2019. The first case in my cataract logbook was a posterior capsular rent (PCR) in a Chinese aunty with an immature cataract. What a lousy way to start my gazettement!

My next PCR was a month later in a middle-aged kind Malay man - the rupture was so huge that I dropped the nucleus. Gosh! He was left aphakia, hence his post-operative vision was worse than pre-operatively. We did not have an in-house vitreoretinal surgeon at that time, so imagine my guilt and anxiety in explaining to the patient that he had to wait until a visiting vitreoretinal surgeon flew in for the ‘rescue’ secondary surgery. 

I honestly thought that I could get away with only 2 PCRs in my logbook which looked quite nicely competent for a junior doctor. But alas, I jinxed it and my 3rd PCR occurred almost at the end of my gazettement in a local Iban man. Fifty completed cataract surgeries were the minimum criteria requirement to complete the gazettement. Almost at the end of my six-month gazettement, I have performed more than 80 cataracts independently with 3 PCRs.

What have I learned through these? Well, firstly is to NOT jinx it by mentioning PCR or nucleus drop in the operating room #notkidding. Okay, but seriously. The most important learning points, in my opinion, are to find out where you have made the blunders, how to prevent the same complication, and how to improve the visual outcomes for patients.