Over 200 ophthalmologists gathered for the three-day scientific conference to hear the latest clinical developments in the specialty from eye experts at home and abroad. Dr Patrick Murtagh , who is currently undertaking a Fellowship in Ocular Oncology at Liverpool University Hospital in the UK following the completion of his ophthalmology surgical training in Ireland, was awarded the William Wilde Medal for his poster ‘ Local Tumour Control and Visual Outcomes in Uveal Melanoma Patients Treated with Iodine Plaque versus Ruthenium Plaque versus Proton Beam Radiation: An Ten-Year Review’ at the ICO Annual Conference, which took place at the Knockranny House Hotel, Westport, Co Mayo. Uveal Melanoma is the most common intraocular tumour in adults.
It has a high rate of metastases and in some studies as many as 50 peer cent develop metastases over a 10-year period. Ireland has a high rate of uveal melanoma (UM) when compared with incidence rates in Europe and the rest of the world, with the mean age-adjusted incidence of uveal melanoma in Ireland reported to be 9.5 per million of the population.
Prof Brendan Kelly was a guest speaker at the Conference, delivering a presentation on ‘Pandemics in Ireland, and Lessons Learned (if Any)’, on Thursday,May 16, 2024. The talk reflected on the pandemic in Ireland, what we might learn as a society, and what pandemics teach us about ourselves. The history of similar events in our history was explored through the work of Sir William W.
