As retina specialists seeing patients every day, we diagnosis and manage a vast range of retinal disorders that are vision threatening. While attending the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) annual meeting in Long Beach, California, in late July and early August, I was reminded of the enormous amount of medical knowledge we must process mentally each minute we are in the clinic or operating room. The conference had 4 days filled with informative expert talks, panel discussions, instructive videos of complex retinal surgeries, and interesting clinical cases from around the world. There were hundreds of amazing podium presentations and discussions—and yet, there still wasn’t enough time to cover every retinal topic.
Like many of you, I enjoy the energy of in-person conferences such as the ASRS meeting, where I can network with colleagues, meet old friends, and learn the latest innovations in the field of retina. I also appreciate having additional educational formats to keep abreast of new developments in retina. This issue of Retinal Physician provides educational content that highlights uveitis, ocular oncology, and pediatric retina.
Arun Singh, MD, and colleagues share their perspective on the appropriate radiation dose for treating uveal melanoma. In an online feature, they also discuss the importance of timely diagnosis and management of vasoproliferative tumors to prevent vision loss. R.V. Paul Chan, MD, and colleagues write on the topic of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into global retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) care. They discuss how advances in imaging and artificial AI systems offer potential opportunities to standardize ROP diagnosis, expand remote disease detection, monitor progression, and predict risk. Their article highlights the current state and discusses future directions and opportunities.
For the topic of uveitis, Naveen Karthik, MD, and Dilraj S. Grewal, MD, review the mechanism of action of interleukin-6 (IL-6), its role as a therapeutic target, and the current IL-6 inhibitor therapies that are under investigation for noninfectious uveitis. Furthermore, Elizabeth Cifers, MBA, reviews uveitis coding considerations to assist physicians accurately reflect clinical findings to support medical necessity for immunomodulatory medicines.
In the “Controversies in Care” column, Dante J. Pieramici, MD, Carl C. Awh, MD, and Michael Colucciello, MD, talk candidly about the port delivery system (PDS) with ranibizumab and the challenges of widespread adoption of this surgically placed intravitreal reservoir. They delve into the efficacy and safety of the PDS from the pivotal clinical trials, as well as the safety setbacks that occurred after the device was approved. The PDS platform is being adapted to deliver novel therapeutics, such as zifibancimig, a bispecific DutaFab with enhanced affinity for VEGF and Ang-2. It will be exciting to see how retina specialists incorporate the PDS into their armamentarium of treatment options for neovascular age- related macular degeneration or diabetic macular edema.
Sharing knowledge and insights brings the retina community closer. Thank you for taking the time to read Retinal Physician—we appreciate your partnership. RP
