2019 - 2020 Monthly Meeting Series

Meal selections for February

Herb Crumb Cod

Cauliflower Steaks w/Mushroom Sauce

Thank you to the following for support of the program:

Thank you to the following who provided support for the following monthly meetings

NOVEMBER 7

DECEMBER 5

JANUARY 9

February 6

POS ANNUAL MEETING and BANQUET

MARCH 20, 2020

REGISTRATION BEGINS JANUARY 17, 2020

40^TH Harvey E. Thorpe Lecturer

Robert H. Osher, MD

Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Medical Director, Emeritus of the Cincinnati Eye Institute

Founder & Editor, Video Journal of Cataract, Refractive, & Glaucoma Surgery

GUEST FACULTY

Daniel J. Briceland, MD

Medical Director, Spectra Eye Institute

Senior Secretary for Advocacy, American

Academy of Ophthalmology;

Claims Chairman, Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company 

Board Member, AAO and OMIC

Hans Bruhn, MHS

Risk Manager

Ophthalmic Mutual insurance Company (OMIC)

San Francisco, CA

Keith D. Carter, MD, FACS

Lillian C. O'Brien and Dr. C.S. O'Brien Chair in Ophthalmology;

Chairman and Head, Department of Ophthalmology; Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Professor of Otolaryngology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

John Pollack, MD

Illinois Retina Associates, PC, Chicago, IL

President, American Society of Retina Specialists

Carol Shields, MD

Chief of the Ocular Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital; Professor of Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia

PAST EVENTS

January 9, 2020

The Society started the new year by welcoming Ho Sun Choi, MD, guest faculty, at the January meeting. Dr. Choi is in solo practice at Santa Clara Ophthalmology in San Jose, CA. He also created the Solo Eye Physicians network, which currently has over 130 members throughout the entire country. 

Dr. Choi is a strong advocate of solo practice and his presentations focused on strategies and pathways to becoming a solo practitioner. Included in his lecture were accounting and corporate tax basic "pearls", as well as taking a closer look at the 21st century ophthalmology practice. Each lecturer included insight from Dr. Choi's experiences while starting his solo practice

Thank you to Kenneth Cheng, MD, for inviting Dr. Choi and to Horizon Therapeutics for support of the program.

Guest Faculty Ho Sun Choi, MD (center) with POS members Viki Christopoulos, MD (left) and Miroya Monsour, MD (right).

December 5, 2019

The Society met on December 5 at the Allegheny County Medical Society and welcomed Collin McClelland, MD, Associate Professor, Neuro-ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus; Reinhardt L. and Ruth H. Schmidtke Endowed Chair in Neuro-Ophthalmology; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences University of Minnesota.

Thank you to Pamela Rath, MD, for inviting Dr. McClelland to speak and to Atlas Ocular and Carl Zeiss Meditec for their support of the program.

Dr. McClelland presented two stimulating lectures on Diplopia and Tips in the Evaluation for Giant Cell Arteritis, with a lively question and answer  session following the presentations.  Jared Weed, MD Resident at the University of Pittsburgh Eye Center, presented an interesting case for commentary by Dr. McClelland.

Left to Right: Presenter: Collin McClelland, MD; POS Member Gabrielle Bonhomme, MD; and President-Elect Marshall Stafford, MD

NOVEMBER 7, 2019

The Society welcomed local faculty and POS members Ian Conner, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Glaucoma and Cataract Service; Chief of Ophthalmology, UPMC Shadyside; Diplomate, American Board of Ophthalmology; Associate Residency Program Director University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac  Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Director of Refractive Surgery and the Cornea Service, UPMC Eye Center; Founder and Director, Center for Integrative Eye Care, University of Pittsburgh.

Over 60 members attended to hear Drs. Conner and Dhaliwal present two exceptional lectures, followed by an active session of questions and answers after each session.

Following the first lecture, Jamie Odden, MD Resident at the University of Pittsburgh Eye Center, presented an interesting case for review and discussion by Dr. Conner and attendees.  Thank you to Aerie Pharmaceuticals for sponsoring the meeting.

 Inset:  Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac., Presenter; Photo Left to Right: Jamie Odden, MD, Resident Presenter;  Ian Conner, MD, PhD, Presenter and POS Board of Director; David Buerger, MD, FACS , President

SEPTEMBER 5, 2019

The Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Society (POS), under the leadership of President David Buerger, MD, FACS, hosted their first monthly meeting of the academic season on September 5^th.

The Society welcomed Joshua C. Teichman, MD, MPH, FRCSC, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Toronto; Trillium Partners, Canada. Following the first lecture, Sabrina Mukhtar, MD Resident at the University of Pittsburgh Eye Center, presented an interesting case for review and discussion by Dr. Teichman. Thank you to Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD for inviting Dr. Teichman.

Over 70 members were on hand for the inaugural meeting. In addition, the meeting served to thank vendors who participated in the 2019 Annual Meeting. Over 20 vendors enjoyed networking with POS members during the social portion of the program.   

A reminder that there is no October meeting due to the AAO meeting held in October. The next monthly meeting will take place on November 7, when the POS welcomes I. Paul Singh, MD, Glaucoma specialist. 

Left to right:  Sabrina Mukhtar, MD (Resident Presenter); Joshua Teichman, MD (guest faculty); David Buerger, MD, FACS, President

POS Hosts  3^rd Annual Wet Lab

June 4 and June 5

The Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Society hosted the 3^rd Annual Ophthalmology Community Wet Lab: Yamane Technique and Iris Defect Repair Workshop at the UPMC Eye Center – Eye and Ear Institute on June 4 and June 5.

Two separate sessions were offered to maximum attendee participation, with each session offering a didactic portion and two-hour hands on workshop.

Thank you to the following companies who were instrumental in providing equipment, support staff and teaching assistance:   Bausch and Lomb and Microsurgical Technology.  The Society also thanks UPMC Eye and Ear for use of the wet lab for this worthwhile endeavor. 

A maximum of 10 physicians attended each session where they had opportunity to explore and learn the indications and surgical steps required for Yamane scleral IOL fixation technique and iris defect repair.

One-on-one learning and coaching were available, and each person was able to self-direct learning and practice opportunities. Attendees become familiar with tools for managing iris or pupillary defects; learned the indications and surgical steps required for Yamane scleral IOL fixation technique; and practiced successful steps for anterior vitrectomy by pars plana approach in the setting of unexpected vitreous presentation during cataract surgery.

Ian Conner, MD, PhD and Sharon L. Taylor, MD, FACS served as course directors and initiated the program offering.  Thank you to POS members Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, Alex Mammen, MD and Thierry Verstraeten, MD who served as instructors and along with the directors and industry instructors, shared their expertise and pearls of wisdom with their colleagues.  

 Comments from participants were uniformly positive and the Society looks forward to offering sessions in 2020.  While we always plan to have vitrectomy practice available, we also welcome suggestions for future wet lab topics or for other educational sessions members would like to see offered.  If you have a skill set others would benefit from learning and practicing, please let us know.  Submit suggestions to Nadine Popovich, administrator, at npopovich@acms.org.

The Society thanks the following sponsors who provided instruction and equipment for the Program:

  Course Director Ian Conner, MD, PhD, (left) instructs participant Joel Brown, MD. Far right, Instructor Thierry Verstraeten, MD tutors attendee        Michaela Hickey, DO.

Instructor Thierry Verstraeten, MD assists Michaela Hickey DO at the 3^rd Annual Wet Lab, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Society.