Dear MSO members,

The Malaysian Society of Ophthalmology (MSO) recently held its Annual General Meeting. We are excited to announce that we have a new board of committee members who will lead us in the next two years. We are particularly proud to introduce our new president-elect, Dr Muiz Mahyudin, who will be taking over as the new president of MSO. Dr Muiz has been an active member of the society for many years, and we are confident that he will bring his wealth of experience and expertise to further strengthen our mission.

In this edition of our newsletter, we are pleased to bring you highlights from the recent Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) 2023 conference held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 23-26 February 2023. The conference was a grand success with up to 4000 attendees from around the globe. Our article on the event covers some of the major takeaways from the conference and insights shared by industry experts.

We are also delighted to present Personality Focus: Dr Sheena Mary Alexander, the head of the department of Ophthalmology at Hospital Queen Elizabeth. Dr Alexander is a renowned expert in the field of ophthalmology, sharing her experience and advice to future ophthalmologists.

Lastly, we bring you coverage of the 3rd BOSS Cataract Video Festival 2023. This event had featured some of the most innovative cataract surgery techniques and technology from around Malaysia.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition of our newsletter and look forward to bringing you more exciting content in the future.

ARTICLES

NEW MSO PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

THE 38th ASIA-PACIFIC ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (APAO) CONGRESS 2023

Ophthalmologists from around the world have recently convened at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on the 23rd to 26th of February 2023 for the 38th Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress 2023 with the theme “Reconnect and Collaborate”. “Every conference serves to reconnect us with colleagues from around the world, and this APAO Congress will be the first physical meeting in four years”, said Dr Kenneth Fong, APAO 2023 Congress President after a 4-year hiatus since the strike of COVID-19 pandemic.

Some 4000 delegates from 78 countries have attended the congress. The congress features more than 500 internationally-renowned ophthalmologists sharing the latest ophthalmic research and ideas in 16 ophthalmic subspecialties, including clinical ophthalmology, visual sciences and artificial intelligence (AI).

The congress encompasses both exciting scientific programs as well as social programs. The congress kicked off with opening speeches by Dr Kenneth Fong APAO 2023 Congress President, Dr Ningli Wang President of the APAO and Dr Clement Tham, Secretary General of the APAO. The congress was officiated by YBhg Dato’ Dr Asmayani Khalib, Deputy Director General (Medical), Ministry of Health Malaysia.

There were 12 scientific sessions, 6 symposiums, 2 plenary sessions as well as 4 wet lab courses over the span of the 4-day event. A total of 570 international key opinion leaders shared their expertise and radiated an exuberant buzz of intelligence at the event. The wet lab sessions were fully-booked and participants had interactive training sessions on gonioscopic glaucoma surgery, pars plana vitrectomy as well as anterior vitrectomy.

PERSONALITY FOCUS: DR SHEENA MARY ALEXANDER

Early Life and Background

I am a Sabahan and completed my primary and secondary education in Sabah. I received my medical education in Manipal International University.

Career in Ophthalmology

I completed my houseman-ship training in University Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian in 1992 and started to work back in Sabah since 1995 as a medical officer. I received master training in Ophthalmology in University Malaya and subsequently vitreoretinal subspecialty training in Sydney, Australia and some other local vitreoretinal centres in Malaysia. 

Back then in the 1990s, the Ophthalmology Department was very short of manpower for both medical officers and specialists. I chose to pursue vitreoretinal subspecialty training because there was no vitreoretinal service as the only vitreoretinal surgeon left for private. I am now in my 28th year of service. I am the vitreoretinal surgeon as well as the head of department of ophthalmology in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sabah. I am also the head of Ophthalmology service for Sabah.  

Ophthalmology Service in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sabah

Queen Elizabeth Hospital is the only tertiary centre in Sabah offering ophthalmology services to the West Coast of Sabah, Labuan and up to Lawas, Sarawak. There are in-house vitreoretinal and oculoplasty services as well as visiting cornea, glaucoma and medical retina services from private and West Malaysia. On top of the routine clinical work and surgery, we organize monthly K4M clinic visit and specialist clinic to the district areas. We also work hand-in-hand with the NGO, Rotary Club, Lion Club and the local bodies such as Persatuan Kuat in organizing K4M cataract surgery for the poor.

3RD BOSS CATARACT VIDEO FESTIVAL 2022

BOSS (Borneo Ophthalmic Surgeons Section) was set up primarily to promote CPD activities for ophthalmologists in the Borneo states of Sarawak and Sabah. BOSS was admitted as a Special Interests Group in MSO in 2022.

The 3rd annual BOSS Cataract Video Festival 2022 was held virtually on 3 December 2022. Participants have to submit a surgical video clip of not more than 8 mins for the competition. This year the festival was divided into the Open and YO sections. Attractive prizes of diagnostic lenses were presented to the winners.

Open section:
Winner: Professor Dr Mae-Lynn Catherine Bastion
First Runner up: Dr Lee Mun Wai
Second Runner up: Dr Choong Yean Yaw

YO section:
Winner: Dr Jason Cheah
Runner up: Dr Fatin Firman