To get you excited about your Congress experience, we asked chairs to share details from their sessions planned over the first three days of Congress. Here’s what they told us.
On Monday 18 May
10.05 – 11.05am
The Young VR surgeons surgical rounds – learning from other’s mistakes
Chair: George Vakros
Surgery’s Greatest “Oops” – Your Vote, Their Lessons.
Session breakdown
- The Format: 6 Rising Stars | 6 Real Cases | 6 Hard Truths
- The Twist: You aren’t just watching; you’re the judge and jury. Use our live voting to decide: What went wrong – What would you do and how would you fix it?
- The Goal: Mastering VR surgery by dissecting the mistakes nobody usually talks about.
Don’t just watch the future of surgery—shape it.”
Strabismus for Exams (and Life)
Chair: Saurabh Jain
A fun interactive session highlighting the various presentations of strabismus, how to examine these patients, differentiate between the various forms and decide on the appropriate management option. A handy way to learn strabismus for the FRCOphth exams… and for life.
11.30am – 1pm
Blame, blind spots and breakthroughs: Are we really using safety and audit data to improve?
Chairs: John Buchan and Christina Rennie
From national level initiatives like the Outcomes Registries Programme and MHRA yellow card scheme to individual human factors. Are safety interventions making us safer?
Rb-NET: the impact of the largest global health collaboration
Chair: Mandeep Sagoo
This session will use Retinoblastoma as a model rare disease to demonstrate how global collaboration through the Rb-NET Global Research Collaboration is transforming outcomes at scale. Speakers will highlight how coordinated international efforts improve early diagnosis, access to treatment, survival, and vision outcomes—particularly in low- and middle-income countries where disparities are greatest. The session will underscore how shared data, capacity building, and multidisciplinary networks provide a blueprint for tackling other rare diseases through evidence-led, globally connected care.
Horizon Scanning: Systemic Associations in Ocular Disease – Translating Research to Clinical Practice
Chair: Vickie Lee
This session explores advances in thyroid eye disease, multiple sclerosis, and GLP-1 therapies, linking pathophysiology to clinical care. Chaired by Miss Vickie Lee, featuring Professors George Kahaly, Richard Nicholas, and Susan Mollan. Join us for multidisciplinary insights and discussion.
1-2pm
What you are not taught in training
This one-day course designed by Stacey Strong and Jen Anikina was a huge success in 2025. They are now offering a one-hour whistlestop tour of their course for free at Congress! A series of rapid fire talks including private practice, appraisal, job plans and lots more, all while enjoying a free lunch! Including guest speaker Richard Scawn.
Lunch / Carving Your Own Career Path: Designing a Portfolio Career in Ophthalmology
Chair: Rashmi Mathew
This session is designed to give you time, space and tools to consider how you would like carve out your future portfolio career pathway.
2-3.30pm
Evolution of various aspects of Ophthalmology
Chair: Mohit Gupta
Building on a very successful session last year on evolution in medical retina, glaucoma, cataract, orbit, cornea and vitroretinal please join us to learn about ocular oncology, oculoplastics, pediatric ophthalmology, neuroophthalmology and squint surgery. With excellent speakers this session is suitable for general ophthalmologists, specialists, resident doctors and SAS colleagues along with non-medical colleagues to get a wide flavour of the direction of travel in these subspecialities. There is lots of time to ask questions and discussion to make it interactive.
Survive, Grow, Thrive: The Years as a New Ophthalmology Consultant
Chairs: Sana Hamid and Daren Hanumunthadu
Join us for a practical, honest, and inspiring session designed for new and early-career consultants. Survive, Grow, Thrive – The First Five Years as a consultant covers the realities of starting out. From building credibility and avoiding early pitfalls, to developing a niche, leading service change, and managing teams, we’ll focus on what matters in the first five years. The session also explores private practice, NHS structures, and maintaining wellbeing, with straightforward, experience-based advice you can apply to your practice.
British Oculoplastic Surgery Society (BOPSS) satellite session : Just what is it that makes today’s Oculoplastics so different, so appealing?
Chair: Vickie Lee
Oculoplastics sits at the crossroads of multiple specialties, integrating ophthalmology with facial, neurological, and systemic care. This inherently multidisciplinary field delivers highly specialised, patient-centred management of both functional and aesthetic periocular conditions. This inaugural BOPSS session offers essential updates and practical insights for all ophthalmologists—regardless of subspecialty—highlighting how collaboration across disciplines enhances outcomes and advances care. Join us to explore what makes modern oculoplastics such a dynamic and evolving specialty.
4-5.30pm
Demystifying UFOOs – A Practical Skills Session for Ophthalmology Trainees
Chair: Waheeda Illahi
Essential session for trainees preparing for their Refraction exam featuring:
- Tips from an experienced Consultant Optometrist
- Retinoscopy techniques
- Mastering focimetry
- Identifying different lens types
- Specialist children’s frames and ptosis props with hands on demonstrations to enrich your understanding
- OCT and ultrasound interpretation with a Consultant Visual Scientist and his 50 years of NHS experience!
Breaking Barriers: Diversity, Ethnicity & Inequalities in Ophthalmology
Chairs Riddhi Shenoy & Chanelle Smith
From belonging in the workplace to the lived realities of blind and partially sighted people, this session speaks to the heart of what healthcare should be: equitable, inclusive, and accessible for all. With talks from Miss Evelyn Mensah and Dr Beverley Duguid, and a panel discussion chaired by Dr Chanelle Smith and Dr Riddhi Shenoy, this session is a reminder that progress isn’t passive. It’s built through honest conversations, shared experiences, and collective action.
On Tuesday 19 May
9.05 – 10.35am
Masters of Vitreoretinal Surgery: Innovations, Strategies, and Expert Insight
Chair: Adonis El Salloukh
Please join our internationally renowned vitreoretinal expert panelists who will go through the latest update on how to manage the most common conditions in vitreoretinal surgery such rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, submacular haemorrhage, dropped nucleus, tractional diabetic detachment and aphakia.”
11.30am – 12.30pm
Cataract Services: Who are they serving?
Chair: John Buchan
Come and hear the latest updates from the NOD Cataract audit, and NIHR funded research into ISTC cataract service commissioning in England.
A roadmap for early recognition and efficient management of sight-threatening infectious uveitis: a case-based discussion
Chair: Eleftherios Agorogiannis
Identifying the correct aetiological diagnosis in patients with sight-threatening uveitis enables the selection of the appropriate therapeutic strategy. Inappropriate use of immunosuppressive medications in infectious uveitis can lead to irreparable visual loss and induce life-threatening systemic complications. In addition, the faster progression rate in certain infectious uveitides suggests that it may be unsafe to defer the critical distinction between non-infectious and infectious causes until the patient has been assessed by a uveitis specialist. This session will focus on case-based discussion of frequently encountered infectious uveitides presenting with primarily posterior segment involvement (ocular toxoplasmosis, syphilis, tuberculosis, viral retinitis, and endogenous endophthalmitis). Each presenter will aim to emphasise the salient clinical and imaging features of these disease entities, and describe a structured approach to confirming the suspected diagnosis and safely initiating treatment.
2.30-3.30pm
Building the future of clinical eye research: NIHR vision for success through digital interoperability
Chair: Deepali Varma
The NIHR session on research provides a comprehensive overview of the diversity of digital systems in use within eye care providers together with their capabilities and interoperabilities. Thus, making a strong case for The Royal College of Ophthalmologists urgent call for the national standardisation of electronic health records in eye care and how this will affect clinical eye research.
4-5.30pm
Surgical Strategies for the Failing Corneal Graft: Innovations Beyond Repeat PK
Chair: Harry Roberts
Our session is not to be missed. It focuses on the management of failed penetrating keratoplasty, the commonest form of corneal transplantation for more than a century. With the advent of lamellar corneal transplant techniques over the last two decades, we will explore modern approaches to the failure of older penetrating grafts.
Laura De Benito Llopis from Moorfields will discuss endothelial keratoplasty for endothelial failure after penetrating keratoplasty, the most common indication for repeat surgery. Prof. James Myerscough from Southend, who completed his fellowship with Professor Massimo Busin, will present on pre-Descemet’s layer-bearing DALK for in penetrating keratoplasty with scarring/high astigmatism/ectasia. Jesse Pantegani from Peterborough will discuss mushroom penetrating keratoplasty as an alternative to conventional repeat PK. Harry Roberts from Exeter will present Simultaneous Double Lamellar Keratoplasty, a recently published technique, offering a fresh approach to some of the most complex cases of failed penetrating keratoplasty.
Albinism – Best practice for ophthalmologists – (yes it has changed)
Chair: Jay Self
The first ever Albinism session run at Congress
- Two People with Albinism are speaking so that is quite original as well as a major PPIE focus
- Update on RCOphth guidance relevant to Albinism – for all clinicians
- A link between Albinism and AMD (this will be a shock to most) – this might be of interest to medical retina people beyond our usual attendee cohorts
- A one-stop shop for all things Albinism – from genetics, through biology, to clinical diagnosis and new treatments and the first clinical trial aimed as rescuing vision from infancy.
On Wednesday 20 May
9.05 – 10.35am
Medico‑legal session
Chair: Amar Al Witry
Medicolegal issues are not going away and we will all face them. You will learn about consent requirements and VR medicolegal issues and how to avoid them. Join us for the “You are the judge” session, answer questions about medicolegal scenarios, vote on your phones, and see what your colleagues think.
What I Wish I Knew: Early Lessons from the Vitreoretinal Frontline
Chair: Adonis El Salloukh
Please join us for our session on early lessons from the vitreoretinal frontline where we will go through the latest secondary IOLs tips and tricks including Carlevale and Yamane, an update on diabetic retinopathy management and the latest in the VR world in scleral buckling techniques and pneumatic retinopexy.”
Harnessing Lifestyle to Prevent and Manage Eye Disease
Chair: Ricardo Peixoto
This session brings a sharper focus to the role of modifiable lifestyle factors in ocular health—an area often overlooked in traditional ophthalmic care. Across glaucoma, medical retina, paediatric ophthalmology and ocular surface disease, we will explore the emerging evidence linking sleep, nutrition, physical activity and systemic health to key disease mechanisms.
From intraocular pressure regulation and retinal vascular function to inflammation and tear film stability, lifestyle behaviours are increasingly recognised as clinically relevant.
The session aims to move beyond theory, highlighting how these factors can be meaningfully integrated alongside medical and surgical treatments to optimise patient outcomes.
Recognising and Managing Uncertainty in Clinical Practice
Chairs: Mike Burdon and Andy Lee
Most textbooks and many lectures on neuro-ophthalmic conditions give guidance on how to make a diagnosis but omit to discuss the crucial role that neuro-ophthalmologists have in monitoring disease activity and planning and delivering treatment. Neuro-ophthalmologists also need to know the long-term prognosis in order to be able to provide best advice to their patients. This seminar shares the experience of clinicians working in multidisciplinary teams to deliver care for patients with three common neuro-ophthalmic conditions: meningiomas, aneurysms and pituitary adenomas
11am – 12.30pm
Can I divorce my colleagues? Managing breakdown in departmental relationships
Chair: Christina Rennie
When relationships between colleagues break down it creates tension and stress for those involved, and can put patient safety at risk. In this session we explore the factors that lead to poor relationships and communication, and what can be done to address these. The role of communication techniques to help build psychological safety and prevent things from deteriorating, through to team coaching and mediation. We will have practical tips and tools for delegates to take away and use in their own workplace.
2.30 – 3.30pm
Artificial Intelligence in Ophthalmology: Evidence from Patient Communication and Education
Chair: Daniel Bahir
A key highlight from Artificial Intelligence in Ophthalmology: What Works, What Fails, and What Clinicians Need to Know was a clear, practice-relevant insight: AI performs impressively in clarity, but struggles with complexity. Across 10 international studies, AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini delivered strong, structured explanations for common conditions, and even approached resident-level performance in ophthalmology education. However, consistent limitations emerged in areas that matter most clinically: nuance, risk communication, empathy, and atypical scenarios. In contrast, vision-based AI systems appear closer to real clinical integration, offering more reliable, structured support for diagnosis and monitoring, particularly in training environments. The takeaway is simple but important: AI is already a powerful tool for education and patient communication, but safe use depends on knowing exactly where it falls short.
4 – 5.30pm
Myopia: Evidence based assessment and management of myopic children in 2026
Chair: Imran Jawaid
Myopia is estimated to impact almost half of the world’s children in the next 20 years, with high myopia projected to increase sight-threatening myopia related complications. However, busy clinicians may find it difficult to keep up-to-date with the latest research in this fast-moving field. In this session, we will explore what to advise pre-myopic children and their caregivers and what we can learn from public health strategies. We will then navigate the evidence base for our current licensed optical interventions. Monitoring efficacy is a key component to effective intervention and we will analyse the evidence and translate into clinical use. Finally, we will see a real-world myopia clinic pathway has been developed. We aim to ensure delegates leave with actionable insights and a deeper understanding of approaches for the assessment and management of myopic children. We look forward to seeing you at the session!
More than Meets the Bag: Everything you didn’t know about the Zonule
Chair: Aman Chandra
An often overlooked but absolutely critical structure. This unique seminar hosted by scientists, geneticists, clinicians and researchers will delve into the physiology, genetics, functional assessment of and clinical and surgical implications of the ciliary zonule and its pathology. A must for anyone working in and interested in lens function, surgery, and accommodation.
AI is everywhere, but novices can be left behind
Michael Quinn, Consultant Nephrologist, Josef Huemer, Consultant Ophthalmologist and Michael Williams, Consultant Ophthalmologist will cover several practical sides of AI: live demos, how to critically appraise an AI paper, and what aviation can teach us about automation and the risks of deskilling. We’ll look at common pitfalls (“deadly sins”) in using AI, see some favourite tools and explore the latest capabilities of AI agents. The aim is to build confidence in using AI in ophthalmology, by being clear about what it can do, and just as importantly, what it can’t.
Don’t miss out. Book your place at Congress now: Annual Congress | The Royal College of Ophthalmologists.