News
Focus & Foresight – vision of COSL
View(s):- Eye surgeons meet in Colombo next week to share knowledge and expertise
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
The numbers are disturbing – 1.7% of Sri Lankans 40 years or older are blind, while 17% in the same age-group are visually impaired, a recent National Blindness Survey has revealed.
It is in this context that the 33rd Annual Scientific Congress of the College of Ophthalmologists of Sri Lanka (COSL) due to be held next weekend from September 19-21, becomes an important event not just for eye surgeons but all Sri Lankans.
The COSL Council
“Our theme ‘Focus & Foresight’ reflects our commitment to advancing knowledge while preparing for the challenges and opportunities of the future,” said COSL President Dr. Kusum Ratnayake, delving into the fact that ophthalmology is one of the fastest-evolving fields in medicine.
With breakthrough research and the rapid integration of cutting-edge technologies, we are entering an era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is steadily advancing in detecting, monitoring, analysing and even treating some eye diseases, he told the Sunday Times.
He said that the true success of a scientific meeting depends on collaboration across all stakeholders in eye care including ophthalmologists and academics as well as nursing officers, optometrists and ophthalmic technologists.
COSL President Dr. Kusum Ratnayake
Looking back, Dr. Ratnayake said that major strides have been made towards the global elimination of avoidable blindness and visual impairment, in the past three decades. Through collective effort, vision research and advances in clinical care, the proportion of people suffering from blindness and visual impairment has been “significantly” reduced.
“Yet, our journey is far from over. The reality is that with growing and ageing populations, the absolute number of people at risk is rising,” he pointed out, explaining that the challenge is even greater and demanding, encompassing many aspects such as clinical skills and also innovation, collaboration and the intelligent use of emerging technologies.
Touching on a key initiative, the ‘Gift of Vision Sri Lanka’ by COSL, he said it was a humanitarian mission launched this year to combat cataract-related blindness across the country. More than 2,200 cataract surgeries had been performed within the past five months.
Glaucoma Interest Group Chair Dr. Dilruwani Aryasingha
He also referred to well-organised national programmes to combat other major causes of blindness, including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and refractive errors but expressed concern over corneal blindness which warrants increased attention and strategic intervention.
The chief guest at the inauguration of the COSL sessions next Friday will be Dr. Ishantha Siribaddana, Chairman & Founder, Java Institute for Advanced Technology.
The COSL Lecture on ‘Evolution of Endothelial Keratoplasty – My journey over the years’ will be delivered by Guest of Honour Dr. Rajesh Fogla, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India, and the Dr. P. Sivasubramanium Oration on ‘Prevalence of glaucoma in Sri Lanka: A community-based island wide study’ by Dr. Lalitha Senarath, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Galle.
Honorary Fellowships are to be awarded to Prof. Patrick Watts from the United Kingdom (UK) and Dr. (Mrs.) Pradeepa K. Siriwardena from Sri Lanka.
Among the experts who will participate in the sessions are Prof. Stephanie Watson from Sydney, Australia; Ms. Claire Daniel, Dr. Jerald William, Prof. Adnan Tufail & Dr. M. Prabhath Piyasena from the UK; Prof. Gemmy Cheung & Prof. T. Umapathi from Singapore; and Prof. Rohit Shetty from India.
| Cataract, the main cause of blindness & need for more surgeries The major cause of blindness in Sri Lanka is cataract amounting to 68% of blindness and 29% of visual impairment, the National Blindness Survey has found. This is why cataracts need intervention, said Dr. Kusum Ratnayake. There is a backlog of 1.5 million (less than a vision of 6/18 in the better eye) people needing cataract surgery. (Vision 6/18 means that a person can only see clearly at a distance of 6 metres what a person with normal vision can see at 18m. The larger the second number in 6/18, the poorer the vision.) The cataract surgical rate currently in Sri Lanka is 3,000 per million population even though the need is 4,500. Meanwhile, other significant causes of blindness include glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and corneal opacity which accounts for around 4% of the total causes of blindness. A study on glaucoma prevalence in Sri Lanka by Dr. Lalitha Senarath in December 2019 has found that in a total sample of 3,266 with a mean age of 58.7 and comprising a majority of females, the prevalence on an individual basis was 3.8% and suspected glaucoma prevalence was 14.9%. The commonest type of glaucoma was primary open angle.
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| Important glaucoma meeting The 16th Asian-Angle Closure Glaucoma Club (AACGC) Meeting, organised by the Glaucoma Interest Group of COSL will be held on September 19, attracting leading specialists in this field from around the world.“Angle-closure glaucoma is a major cause of world blindness today. It is expected to become an even more serious problem as the world population and longevity increases. Primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) is higher in Asians than Europeans and Africans, with over 80% of PACG worldwide in Asia,” said the Chairperson of the Glaucoma Interest Group, Dr. Dilruwani Aryasingha. Underscoring that the meeting will offer educational exchanges, scientific news and best practice updates, she said it reflects a commitment to advancing knowledge and improving care for individuals affected by angle closure glaucoma in Asia. She appreciated the guidance of Prof. Tin Aung of Singapore in holding the meeting. Some of the experts participating at this meeting include Prof. Kazuhiko Mori from Japan; Prof. Clement C. Tham from Hong Kong; Prof. Tin Aung & Associate Professor Shamira Perera from Singapore; Dr. Nishani Amerasinghe from the United Kingdom; and Prof. Benjamin Xu from the United States of America.
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