Submitted by Associate Prof Ian Francis

I, along with my colleague Dr Ilesh Patel, had the privilege of attending the South Australian Branch Meeting of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists in early April 2017.

The weekend was based on Medical Retina, and the delegates heard from the major luminaries in Medical Retina from all over Australia.

This was one of the best of the many courses and lectures on Medical Retina that I have attended over the last six months.

The major thinking was that intraocular bleeding and ischaemia can now be treated with anti-VEGF injections.

The bleeding and new vessels are most commonly associated with Diabetes as Diabetic Retinopathy, and reflect the obesity epidemic in Australia. It is estimated that around 20% of the population here currently may be regarded as obese, setting the stage for T2DM.

Retinal Vein Occlusions, both Central and Branch Vein, which are associated with systemic hypertension, represent a major cause of intraocular causes of vision loss, and of course intraocular bleeding. Similarly, the previously untreated haemorrhagic Macular Degeneration, may now be treated with these injections.

Submitted by A/Prof Ian Francis