Alcon, the global leader in eye care and official sponsor of 20/20™, will host future ophthalmology leaders for the second annual Alcon Retina Fellows Institute, a unique educational experience where first year retina fellows gain hands-on surgical training and mentorship from some of the leading ophthalmologists in the field. Taking place at the Alcon Experience Center in Fort Worth, TX on November 22-23, 40 retina fellows from across the U.S. will have the opportunity to receive one-on-one, practical instruction from world-class faculty featuring the latest innovations in retina surgery.

This year’s program builds on the overwhelming success of the 2018 Alcon Retina Fellows Institute where participants received hands-on experiences and one-on-one training in the wet labs at Alcon. The Institute also gave them the chance to practice with state-of-the-art retinal surgery technology not available at many training facilities. In a post-event survey, the fellows rated the quality of the program and faculty as “excellent.”

“We take our role as the global leader in eye care seriously, and as part of this, we are committed to supporting the next generation of ophthalmologists with best-in-class training to prepare them for their first year in their own practice,” said Josh Anderson, Head of Retina Sales & Marketing, US Surgical, Alcon. “After the success of last year’s inaugural Institute, we are excited to welcome a new class of Alcon Retina Fellows and look forward to watching them become the future leaders in retina.”

Participants at the 2019 Alcon Retina Fellows Institute were nominated by their Fellowship Program directors and hail from some of the top ophthalmology programs in the U.S. Putting the emphasis on hands-on skills over traditional lecture-based classes, this year’s training program will include sessions designed to simulate a surgical laboratory setting. Fellows will rotate through a series of lessons covering a range of topics that will prepare them for real-world ophthalmological practice, including fluidics, sutured and sutureless intraocular lenses (IOLs), 3D visualization and small gauge surgery.

The program also includes time for electives where participants gain skills important for their first year out of training. Classes will be taught by an elite faculty of expert surgeons, exposing the fellows to some of the leading minds in ophthalmology today.

“The Alcon Retina Fellows Institute is an innovative educational platform where surgeons-in-training are placed shoulder-to-shoulder with experienced surgeons in highly interactive classrooms and wet-lab settings surrounded by the latest surgical technology,” said Donald J. D'Amico, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, NY. “Beyond demonstrating the practical mechanics of surgical techniques, the atmosphere of the course encourages the sharing of attitudes and perspectives, which are essential to become an effective and compassionate surgeon.” 

The Alcon Retina Fellows Institute will take place at the Alcon Experience Center, a state-of-the-art facility providing eye care professionals with comprehensive eye health education, hands-on experiential learning opportunities and cutting-edge virtual reality technology for an immersive training experience.

For more information about the Alcon Retina Fellows Institute, visit www.surgicalretina.com and follow Alcon on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.