Photo: Dr Marcy Tong speaking at the Annual Ocular Therapeutics Conference
The annual Ocular Therapeutics Conference (OTC) was held at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre in Auckland on Sunday 15 March 2020. The Ocular Therapeutics Conference is a not-for-profit postgraduate education event brought to the New Zealand eye-care community by the Buchanan Ocular Therapeutics Unit, University of Auckland. The theme this year was 2020: Are we delivering the best?
The keynote speaker was Professor Stephanie Watson from the University of Sydney. The 1-day programme also included four other sessions on “Anterior segment therapeutics”, “The rare and the unusual”, “Of bugs and drugs”, and “Anti-VEGFs and alternatives”. Topics were delivered in 12-minute rapid fire sessions, followed by interactive panel discussions.
Dr Marcy Tong, a PTF from SOVS and lead optometrist for the Dry Eye Clinic, presented her topic “Dry Eye management at SOVS – the trials and tribulations of the first year”. This talk reviewed our evidence-based approach to clinical care using the diagnostic methodology of TFOS DEWS II to devise an individualized treatment plan for our patients, and provided an overview of the outcomes of the first 12 months of our Dry Eye Clinic at the University of Auckland.
Evaluation techniques using the Oculus Keratograph 5M and Tear Science Lipiview II were discussed in the context of various patient scenarios to assist practitioners in understanding the step-wise approach to creating a therapeutic management plan for dry eye disease. Treatment discussion topics included IPL and Lipiflow, and these were accompanied by some tips about our successes, our challenges, and changes we’ll be making moving forward, as we continue to grow our clinic and offer a world standard level of care.