A three-day Southern Regional Ophthalmologic Conference 2000 will be held in Bangalore from November 3 to 5. The event will highlight major advances made in the field of ophthalmology in India particularly with regard to the contribution from the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The emerging trends in intra ocular lenses, cataract and glaucoma treatment will be discussed at the conference. The recent pollution related eye disorders prevalent in the four southern states where redness of the eye and itching and other allergic problems are rampant among the people living here will be discussed at length.

There will also be a special focus on the specific patterns of eye diseases like conjunctivitis which have a higher prevalence in the southern states. The conference will focus on the current and future problems including cataract blindness, AIDS related eye diseases and changing trends in the treatment of many blinding eye diseases.

About 200 ophthalmologists from all over south India are expected to attend the conference. It will provide a platform for the ophthalmologists to discuss new trends in eye surgery, approaches to patients with recurring cataract, children's sight problems, age related macular degeneration and squint correction. Doctors will also have a workshop on Laser phaco surgery and Lasik Laser, which are the recent trends worldwide. The no-anaesthesia laser cataract surgery, a procedure, which is done in 10 minutes and involves no stitches or hospitalisation, will be given special importance during the event.

There will be a series of interactive sessions on prevention of blindness, which is a serious issue in the country. Apart from this there will be deliberations on pharmaceutical ophthalmology as there are several leading players like Allergan India Ltd., Ciba Vision, a part of Novartis AG, Bausch & Lomb, introducing a host of novel combinations for various eye disorders, contact lenses and solutions.

From Bangalore, participants will be from the leading ophthalmology medical centres like the Minto Ophthalmic Institute, Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital, Netra Dama, Prabha Eye Hospital, which are the notable names in the city apart from the ophthalmology departments of Lady Curzon Hospital, St. Marthas Hospital, St. Philomenas Hospital, Baptist Hospital, St. John's Medical College Hospital, to name a few.