"Envisioning the Future of Retina" CE Series - October Webinars
In 2020, Retina Consultants of Texas presented several webinars in our CE series “Envisioning the Future of Retina.” Each virtual webinar featured a wide range of cases that our physicians worked on during the past year. Hosted by Dr. James Major and sponsored by the Greater Houston Retina Research Foundation (GHRRF), the webinars provided deeper insight into the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of retinal conditions. Optometrists in attendance earned a CE credit equaling one therapeutic hour.
The webinar that took place on October 14th, 2020 featured five presentations that focused on unique cases with research potential. The panel consisted of:
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Dr. Matthew S. Benz, who presented a case of Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration [AMD] with geographic atrophy. Dr. Benz compared various imaging modalities that are used to evaluate geographic atrophy and discussed how fundus autofluorescence was superior in terms of refining phenotype and predicting how patients will do over time.
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Dr. David M. Brown, who presented on the classification of diabetic retinopathy and the Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Scale (DRSS). Dr. Brown discussed how the DRSS is highly predictive of the development of the most severe cases of diabetic retinopathy. He also went into detail about findings from the Panorama study, touched on the importance of early referrals, and mentioned other research initiatives that are currently underway, including gene therapy.
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Dr. Charles C. Wykoff, who presented on optimizing outcomes in the management of wet AMD. Dr. Wykoff discussed how, although many patients are helped with the usage of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy (anti-VEGF) injections, treatment and prevention need to be pushed even further. He outlined a few simple ways that ophthalmologists can improve outcomes for AMD patients, including slowing the development of AMD by focusing on modifiable risk factors, early diagnosis, patient education, and at-home monitoring tools. He also included specific red flags that ophthalmologists should keep an eye out for when looking at OCT scans.
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Dr. Christopher R. Henry, who presented on a case of central retinal vein occlusion and discussed current clinical trials, including Kodiak Sciences’ study of KSI-301, as well as the RAPTOR and RAVEN trials.
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Dr. Sagar B. Patel, who presented a unique case of retinitis pigmentosa and talked about the differentials that need to be investigated when diagnosing an inheritable disease. Dr. Patel reviewed current treatment options for retinitis pigmentosa as well as the importance of genetic testing. He also mentioned two upcoming clinical trials for retinitis pigmentosa.
The CE webinar ended with a brief introduction of the newest member of our team, Dr. Vy Nguyen. If you would like to participate in any of our future CE events, be sure to register here for updates from RCTX.
