"ESASO Asia was set up to provide top quality instructional courses to post-residency ophthalmologists in various subspecialties, especially in Medical & Surgical Retina. ESASO (European School of Advanced Studies in Ophthalmology) is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland (www.esaso.org). To propagate this programme in Asia, ESASO appointed Prof. Dr. Adrian Koh as Executive Director of ESASO Asia based in Singapore in 2010.

To date, ESASO Asia has conducted 9 courses, 8 in Singapore and 1 in Shanghai, China. The latest in the series was held from 18-21 August 2016. It featured world-renowned speakers in Retina, among them Professors Neil Bressler (Johns Hopkins), Sobha Sivaparasad (Moorfields Eye Hospital), I-Van Ho (Sydney Eye Hospital), Adrian Koh (Eye & Retina Surgeons Singapore) & Ong Sze Guan (Eye & Retina Surgeons Singapore). The course was over-subscribed. Participants learnt about diabetic retinopathy and macular edema, age-related macular degeneration, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, latest imaging techniques, retinal surgery for retinal detachment, diabetic complications and how to manage vitreo-retinal complications of cataract surgery. New drug regimens were discussed, and current and future therapies for blinding retinal conditions presented.

The unique strengths of the programme are the world class faculty; small class sizes (40-50 participants); clinically-relevant interactive lectures; in-depth discussion of topics (one hour per topic allocated); students are given slide handouts of all talks to maximise their learning; MCQ assessment and feedback on their performance at the end of each course.

The next course will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam in November 2016."