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Report of the first annual South African Glaucoma Society meeting

Drakensberg, South Africa July 28-30, 2000

Petrus Gous

The South African Glaucoma Society held its inaugural meeting in the beautiful Drakensberg, a majestic mountain range in the KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa. The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in South Africa and offers some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country, offering a blend of dramatic rock faces, massive spires, plunging waterfalls, endless grasslands, rivers and forests. Here the second highest waterfall in the world, the Tugela Falls, plummets 948 m down a sheer rock face.

About 140 ophthalmologists attended the meeting. Our overseas guest speaker was Dr John Salmon, glaucomatologist and consultant from Oxford in the United Kingdom, who gave a series of five lectures, covering topics such as the diagnosis of glaucoma, the art of gonioscopy, management and diagnosis of normal tension glaucoma, surgical tips in managing glaucoma, and the medical treatment of glaucoma, and he also ran a workshop on difficult glaucoma cases.

At the Annual General Meeting of the South African Glaucoma Society, Dr Petrus Gous became the new President of the Glaucoma Society. The South African Glaucoma Society would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr Andre Kachelhoffer, the Immediate Past President for his excellent leadership since the inception of the South African Glaucoma Society four years ago.

TOP IX

• Sexual activity or exercise in the prone position can precipitate intermittent angle closure in plateau iris syndrome, leading to intermittent blurring and ocular pain.

• Selective laser trabeculoplasty in the management of glaucoma in black patients is at least as effective as standard Argon laser trabeculoplasty.

• Standard penetrating glaucoma surgery results in lower postoperative IOP than non-penetrating glaucoma surgery.

• The postoperative IOP results in non-penetrating glaucoma surgery with or without collagen implants are similar.

• Non-perforating glaucoma surgery has similar results with or without combined cataract extraction through a separate site.
  Ahmed valve implants are effective in IOP control when used in combination with keratoplasty, but be aware of vitreoretinal complications such as choroidals.

• Glaucoma patients have specific problems with refractive surgery, including altered corneal thickness and steroid responsiveness.

• Surgical management of nanophthalmic eyes should include prophylactic sclerostomy.

• Frequency doubling perimetry might be effective in the screening of patients for glaucoma.