Formation of EPOS
In the 1960s the term “paediatric ophthalmology” was virtually unknown. All Ophthalmologists were generalists, although some were slowly developing a particular interest in one aspect of ophthalmology. There were really no sub-specialty interests and virtually no sub-specialists. However, in the second half of the 1960s people slowly became more interested in specific parts of ophthalmology. Paediatric ophthalmology was then, as now, a Cinderella specialty with relatively little interest. It was at the end of the 1960s that Brian Harcourt and Albert Franceschetti were lounging around a pool in Acapulco. It was there that they discovered their mutual interest in paediatric problems and decided that it would be right for some of the younger ophthalmologists in Europe to get together and discuss the growing points in the sub- specialty.
Discussions continued, but it was only through the work of Barrie Jay, to whom the Group owes an incomparable debt, that a meeting first took place in 1972 in Oxford. Amongst those that attended were Alan Bird, August Deutmann and Jean-Jacques DeLaey together with one of the greatest paediatric ophthalmologists of our age, Mette Warburg. Since then the Group has prospered and, for many years the tradition was that it met alternately in the United Kingdom and in a European city. The Group was run somewhat autocratically by Barry Jay, who made all of the arrangements and most of the decisions and, in spite of this, was extremely successful.
When Barrie retired from the Chair of Ophthalmology at Moorfields Eye Hospital the organisation passed to Tony Moore who is now Professor of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Genetics. As with all groups, it has expanded and become more formal and, under Professor Birgit Lorenz, is set to become the leading, and the biggest, group of those interested in Paediatric Ophthalmology and Genetics in Europe.
One of the basic principles of the Group has been that discussion of squints should be excluded and left to the strabismological societies and this will be maintained.
Previous meetings:
- 2014 Barcelona, Spain
- 2013 Leiden, The Netherlands
- 2012 in Uppsala, Sweden
- 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece Visual Impairment in Childhood
- 2010 Bad Nauheim, Germany New Challenges in Paediatric Ophthalmology
- 2009 Paris, France Perinatal Ophthalmology
- 2008 Leuven, Belgium The Eye in Systemic Disease
- 2007 Portoroz, Slowenia Paediatric Electrophysiology and Psychophysics
- 2006 Vilamoura Pediatric Neuro-ophthalmology
- 2005 Warszaw Advances in the surgical treatment of pediatric eye diseases
- 2004 Manchester Developmental genes and the eye
- 2003 Regensburg Gene Therapy and Other Modern Therapeutic Approaches in Paediatric Retinal Degenerations
- 2002 Figuera da Foz Dysmorphology of the Eye and Orbit
- 2001 Regensburg Trends in Paediatric Ophthalmology
- 2000 Cambridge Retinal dystrophies
- 1999 Strasbourg Multisystem disease and the eye
- 1998 Dublin Metabolic diseases of the eye
- 1997 Cambridge Neonatal ophthalmology
- 1996 Valencia Neuro-ophthalmology
- 1995 Cambridge Dysmorphology and the eye
- 1994 Regensburg Teratology and the eye
- 1993 Cambridge Phacomatoses
- 1992 Oxford Retinal receptor dystrophies
- 1991 Sandjberg Multiplyhandicapped and the ophthalmologist
- 1990 Oxford Anomalies of the anterior segment
- 1989 Bruges Retinopathy of prematurity
- 1988 Oxford Genetic diseases of the cornea
- 1987 Geneva Neuro-ophthalmology
- 1985 Oxford Hearing and the eye
- 1983 Amsterdam Genetics and ophthalmology
- 1982 Oxford Ocular and adnexal tumours in childhood
- 1981 Gent Genetics and ophthalmology
- 1980 Geneva Retinal disease in childhood
- 1979 Oxford Visual development in childhood normal and abnormal
- 1978 Freiburg Genetics and ophthalmology
- 1977 Oxford Nystagmus
- 1976 Nijmegen Cataract in childhood
- 1975 Copenhagen Visually handicapped children the ophthalmologist’s responsibility
- 1974 Oxford Visual function in childhood
- 1973 Oxford Retinitis pigmentosa