Dr. Lai Presents Original Research at 51st Retina Society Meeting

Dr. James C. Lai was honored to be invited to present his original research regarding vein occlusions at the 51st Annual Retina Society meeting in September 2018 which was held in San Francisco. The Retina Society is considered to be one of the oldest and most prestigious honorary societies for retinal specialists in the world.
Dr. Lai’s paper was entitled, “The Presence of Collateral Vessels is a Useful Prognostic Sign in Patients with Retinal Vein Occlusions.” The presentation was well received and generated a lot of discussion at the meeting. This was the first time that a specific type of blood vessel was shown to be a useful marker in helping to guide management decisions for vein occlusion patients. Dr. Lai states, “It’s exciting to think that our research may change how retinal specialists treat vein occlusion patients.”

At the meeting, Dr. Lai was able to connect with several of his previous mentors from Johns Hopkins and Duke University. One of the highlights of the meeting for Dr. Lai was seeing his former mentor, Dr. Brooks McCuen, receive a lifetime achievement from the Retina Society. Dr. McCuen is the former Chief of Retina at Duke. “It was great seeing Brooks and I am forever grateful for getting the opportunity to train with such a generous and humble teacher who is regarded as one of the giants of retinal surgery,” states Dr. Lai.