"One World—Scleralize It!"

As we resume normal travel and interact with colleagues all over the globe, our connections reinforce our belief that we are truly one world. Eye care practitioners face many of the same challenges no matter where they practice. For patients with corneal irregularities, ocular surface disease, and even those with normal eyes who want to enhance their vision, scleral lenses can address these issues—with the added benefit of a marked improvement in quality of life. With this in mind, it behooves today’s medically minded optometrists to offer scleral lenses to their patients.

Those new to fitting scleral lenses, scleral lens experts, and everyone in between will want to come check out the International Congress of Scleral Contacts (ICSC) meeting, which takes place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the beautiful W Hotel from July 29 to 30, 2022. This 2-day meeting is devoted solely to scleral lenses and includes speakers from more than 15 countries around the world. The theme of ICSC 2022 is “One World—Scleralize It!” and features leading experts in the field. The enthusiasm and learning that occurs at ICSC are unlike any other meeting.

A RECAP FROM LAST YEAR

In 2021, we (Figure 1) were honored to have Eef van der Worp, BOptom, PhD, FAAO, FIACLE, FSLS, (the Netherlands) speak about the evolution of scleral lenses. Dr. van der Worp also provided a glimpse into the future. Sabrina Lara, OD, FIACLE, (Argentina) offered a fascinating account of treating her pediatric patients, who are often underserved. Because ICSC provides professional Spanish translation services for the entire meeting, Dr. Lara was able to give her presentation in Spanish, which was translated into English. Likewise, native Spanish speakers can enjoy the full range of presentations given in English. Keynote speakers Brian Tompkins, BSC (Hons), FCOptom, FBCLA, (UK) and David Piñero, OD, PhD, (Spain) streamed their presentations live to the meeting. Both were informative and entertaining.

This year, we are extremely excited that both Drs. Tompkins and Piñero plan to attend and lecture in person, along with Esther-Simone Visser, OD, MSc, PhD, FSLS, (the Netherlands) who, like her father, Rients Visser Sr, has accomplished pioneering work on scleral shape and scleral lens design.

In 2021, ICSC highlighted the Young ODs of America by inviting a number of new practitioners to attend (Figure 2). Their energy and enthusiasm were a spark to the entire meeting. We look forward to their return and welcome all ODs, both young and maybe not so young, to attend ICSC 2022. We are thrilled to announce that several of these exceptional Young ODs have become ICSC Ambassadors.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR

New for 2022, we are excited to welcome doctors from the Black Eyecare Perspective (blackeyecareperspective.com). This group of optometrists has the goal of helping “eyecare professionals and companies stay effective and relevant in a forever changing landscape by aligning their values based on equity and inclusion within the eyecare industry.” They also work to “facilitate better dialogue between non-minority eyecare professionals and the Black demographic in an eyecare setting.”

In addition to lectures, there will also be workshops and time to interact with industry partners who bring the latest technology and techniques to ICSC. The meeting organizing committee is very involved in designing a program sure to satisfy our attendees, whatever their level of expertise.

TIME TO SCLERALIZE

The popularity of scleral lenses is colossal and continues to grow. As demonstrated each year at ICSC, the passion, expertise, and interest of scleral lens practitioners and the future of scleral lenses is bright. We are in a historic phase of scleral lens growth. The 2021 meeting was top-notch and offered best practices for patients, practitioners, and industry. We do not doubt that this year’s meeting will be equally fantastic. We would like to personally invite you to “Scleralize It” at ICSC 2022. Hope to see you there!