by Hussain Aluzri, Junior Glaucoma Cinical Research Fellow, Birmingham Midland Eye Centre, UK.
The UKPGS 2025 conference was another resounding success, held on 24 January 2025 at the Cavendish Conference Centre, London. The event commenced with an opening address by Professor Sir Peng T Khaw, followed by the first of eight diverse sessions.
Attendees hailed from nine different countries, including India, Sweden, Denmark, and the USA. With 16 poster presentations, 49 oral presentations, and two keynote lectures, UKPGS 2025 was another highly engaging and content-rich event. The rapid-fire format, allowing four-minute presentations, efficiently covered a wide range of topics.
Shrushti Hunashyal inaugurated the first session, which focused on the latest research in paediatric glaucoma. Chaired by Mr Joe Abbott (Birmingham) and Mr Peter Chang (Miami), the session featured a presentation on a novel UBM-based classification system for corneal changes in early childhood glaucoma, aiming to predict post-surgical corneal clarity and glaucoma severity. Session 2 featured a clinical discussion on surgical outcomes, genetic factors, and novel management strategies in paediatric glaucoma, focusing on CYP1B1 variants, PRESERFLO MicroShunt efficacy, and complex cases like Sturge-Weber syndrome. The third symposium featured advances in recent advancements in gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT) and angle surgery.
Mr. Chetan K Patel, an Oxford-based paediatric and adult vitreoretinal surgeon, delivered an insightful guest lecture on surgical retina case studies in glaucoma. His talk provided a unique vitreoretinal perspective on various glaucoma cases and their management.
Following the provided lunch, the Tube Symposium took place, chaired by Mr Yau (Manchester) and Ms Edmunds (Portland). This session focused on advanced tube shunt procedures and innovations in surgical techniques.
Session 5, chaired by Ms Chua and Mr Gurney, explored genetics in paediatric glaucoma. Four presentations from India highlighted efforts to correlate genotype with phenotype, providing valuable prognostic insights across congenital glaucoma subtypes, including primary congenital glaucoma and aniridia. Session 6 and 7 were rapid fire which covered innovations from glaucoma in inherited retinal dystrophies to AI based screening to simulation based training.
A particularly poignant moment of the conference was Mr Sung’s lecture on the evolution of UKPGS, tracing its origins from an informal meeting at Moorfields Education Centre to the internationally renowned paediatric glaucoma conference it has become today.
The event culminated with the prestigious Noel Rice Lecture, delivered by Professor Sir Peng T Khaw, titled 'Can we “cure” paediatric glaucoma? Lessons from half a century of clinical treatments and research'. Sir Khaw reflected on the remarkable advancements in the management of paediatric glaucoma, transitioning from a past where childhood glaucoma meant inevitable blindness to a future where lifelong vision preservation is increasingly attainable — a testament to his pioneering contributions. He was given his award by Ms Papadopoulos.
The UKPGS 2025 conference also recognised outstanding contributions in the field by awarding prizes to Shrushti Hunashyal (Chandigarh, India), Susana Duarte (Lisbon, Portugal), and Areej Alizary (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) as trainee presentation winners.
Mr Joe Abbott, the incoming UKPGS president, concluded the conference with closing remarks, acknowledging the progress made and the exciting future ahead for paediatric glaucoma research and treatment.
