Our October issue is dedicated to paediatric eye care, with the focus on vision impairment.
I would like to thank our guest editor, Dr Sandra Staffieri AO, for driving a content-rich edition that includes diverse topics – from first-hand patient experiences through to nutrition, gene therapies, and surgery. Dr Staffieri’s passion for paediatric eye health is infectious, and her ability to bring people together on a project that requires effort well beyond the usual challenges of delivering day-to-day care is nothing short of impressive. Thank you to all the contributors who did exactly that.
That spirit of collaboration is a fitting theme for this issue, and it’s one I’ve seen play out well beyond paediatric ophthalmology. I’ve spent the past few months attending various conferences and trade shows for eye care professionals, and the one thing that has stood out for me is how generously this sector collaborates.
At the time of going to print with our October issue, I had just returned from the Asia-Pacific Vitreo-retina Society (APVRS) Congress on the Gold Coast. Organised by Professor Andrew Chang AM, this event attracted 2,000 delegates from 46 countries. And as Prof Chang observed in conversation, doctors network in many ways, but it’s the connection that happens at face-to-face events that leads to collaboration, and that’s where the real value lies.
One of the sessions at APVRS brought his words home to me. It was on mystery retina cases. An ophthalmologist from New Zealand, Dr Narme Deva, spoke about a case of idiopathic retinal vasculitis, aneurysms, and neuroretinitis (IRVAN) syndrome that she was managing. Given New Zealand’s relatively small population, she knew of only two IRVAN cases diagnosed there in the past decade – and, coincidentally, both patients presented concurrently.
Dr Deva asked the doctors in the room for their opinions on managing her patient. One doctor stood and told the room he was about to publish on 50 cases of IRVAN syndrome (a ripple of audible surprise rang out) and proceeded to speak of his experience. I am unsure of which country that doctor practises in – but it was clearly one with a population far greater than NZ that had exposed him to many, many cases of a rare disease.
And that had equipped him to share advice that will help delegates from around the world improve outcomes for their own patients – just because they happened to be in the room.
It’s a small but perfect example of what collaboration in this field can achieve. As Helen Keller said, ‘Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much’.
Enjoy!
MELANIE KELL
Editor
