AAO/ASOPRS Recap Message from Dr. Lucarelli

• Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (OPRS) Journal – Along with Co-Editor Bernice Brown, Dortz served as the second Editor-in-Chief of OPRS. Now in its 35th year, circulated worldwide (and with Jonathan Dutton as 6th Editor-in-Chief), OPRS is an important vehicle for publishing the scientific work of our members and oculoplastic surgeons around the globe. Also, the royalties of OPRS are a very substantial part of ASOPRS’ budgetary margin.
• ASOPRS Foundation –Michael Hawes had the insight and vision for getting the ASOPRS Foundation started. In her presentation on the history of ASOPRS, Immediate Past President, Tamara Fountain listed the formation of the Foundation in 2001 as one of the most important ASOPRS developments in the last 25 years. Owing to the generosity of many ASOPRS members, the Foundation endowment has grown to over $1.1 million. (Notably, Mike Hawes, Brad Lemke, and Dortz were among the President Fund donors who very generously provided the initial capital for the Foundation). ASOPRS Foundation funds are now supporting numerous scientific, educational and humanitarian initiatives worldwide. Three of 6 Board Chairs of the Foundation have been from our program: Mike Hawes, Roberta Gausas, and currently Jan Kronish! Additionally, Don Kikkawa and David Lyon are currently serving as Trustees on the Foundation. Great job leading the charge in ASOPRS’s philanthropic efforts!

             This year’s ASOPRS Foundation Michael J. Hawes Lecturer was Dr. William Nunery who presented “Observations after 40 years of Managing Thyroid Eye Disease.”

• ASOPRS Presidential Track Leadership – Five of our members have served as ASOPRS President: Richard Dortzbach (1995), Michael Hawes (1998), Bradley Lemke (2000), Jan Kronish (2011), Don Kikkawa (2014). These leaders have served our Society with great vision, skill, and integrity. As current President-Elect, I will be honored to serve ASOPRS in this role in 2020 and hope to emulate their leadership.
• ASOPRS expansion to a two day scientific meeting format traces back to Brad Lemke’s presidency in 2000. Also, Brad helped establish the ASOPRS email chat line which has evolved into the ASOPRS Forum.
• The Richard K. Dortzbach Teaching Award this year was presented this year to Allen Putterman. With his many important contributions to the field over nearly 5 decades, Dr. Putterman is certainly a wonderful choice for ASOPRS Dortzbach teaching award.
• ASOPRS Fellowships – Through the past 50 years, the ASOPRS fellowships have truly been the lifeblood of our organization. Videos of Byron Smith and other early pioneers and heartfelt comments from current ASOPRS members about their mentors were poignant reminders of the essential role of our ASOPRS fellowships. The following current ASOPRS Program Directors connect back to our UW Madison lineage:
  • Alon Kahana (University of Michigan)
  • Bobby Korn (UCSD- International Fellowship; via Don Kikkawa)
  • Don Kikkawa (UCSD)
  • Mark Lucarelli (UW-Madison)
  • Bryan Sires (Allure; Kirkland, WA)
  • Ed Wladis (Albany Medical Center; via Roberta Gausas)
  • Additionally, these former UW Fellows and Grand-fellows serve as Faculty in ASOPRS programs across the US: AJ Amadi (U Washington, Cat Burkat (U Wisconsin), Vic Elner (U Michigan), Greg Griepentrog (Med College of Wisconsin), Michael Hawes (U Colorado), Bradford Lee (U Miami), Brad Lemke (UW Madison), Mike McCracken (U Colorado), John Rose (U Wisconsin), George Stasior (Albany), Kristen Tarbet (U Washington), John Woog (Mayo Clinic).
• Cat Burkat was nominated and elected as the next ASOPRS Program Chair. Over the next 3 years, Cat will play an increasingly prominent role in developing the educational content for our ASOPRS meetings. Congratulations, Cat! Looking forward to some great meetings.
• Team UCSD – Don Kikkawa continues to do great work on so many levels for our specialty, including at the AAO, ASOPRS, the ABO and as Vice Chair at UCSD. The Kikkawa branch of the ASOPRS tree is one of ASOPRS best and strongest. The UCSD Team’s contributions at the meeting were amazing in breadth! Congratulations, Don, Bobby, and the whole UCSD team for your many outstanding contributions! We also look forward to getting to know recently recruited UCSD faculty, Catherine Liu.
• Nick Ramey’s great work on the ASOPRS patient education pamphlets received a very prominent shout out during Tamara Fountain’s historical remarks. Way to go, Nick!
• For those who missed Russ Gonnering’s invited lecture at this year’s ASOPRS Spring Meeting at Atlantis, Russ has recently published an invited article in Current Opinion in Ophthalmology “Is Oculofacial Surgery Complex or Merely Complicated.”
• Thanks to Joe Shovlin for hosting a very special extended White Coat Gathering this year. We had great attendance of 25 friends, with representation from UCSD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Penn, University of Michigan, and UW- Madison. We were also very happy to welcome several esteemed international colleagues: Lily DongMei (China), Shubhra Goel (India), Pimkwan Jaru-Ampornpan and her husband, Dr. Chottiwat (Thailand), Nina Jovanovic (Bosnia), Karim Punja (Canada), GC Sekhar (India). It was great to meet Lindsay El-Awadi, Alon Kahana’s Physician Assistant who also presented at the AAO. We were very happy, too, that our Madison oculofacial colleague, Brett Pariseau, and his guest, Dr. Karen Sager, were able to celebrate with us.
• Another big Thank You… Over the last 2 years, Deb Sherman and her husband, Tim Sitkberg, have provided generous funding with a “Pay it Forward” theme to support oculoplastic academic, research, and mission work of UW-Madison trainees. These funds provide wonderful support to deserving medical students and residents interested in Oculoplastics and to our Oculofacial Fellow. Thank you, Deb and Tim, for your continued generosity!

AAO

At the AAO, the UW – Madison anatomy course ran again for its 36th consecutive year. Thanks to Cat Burkat for again leading the charge and for the many instructors who have helped make this course a perennial success. Former directors of this course have been: Brad Lemke, Russ Gonnering, Dave Lyon, Don Kikkawa, and Mark Lucarelli. The following people served as 2019 instructors at this perennial favorite at the AAO:

• Ramzi Alameddine
• Shubhra Goel
• Jaclyn Gurwin *Thanks, Jaclyn, for your great help with the specimens!
• Pimkwan Jaru-Ampornpan
• Alon Kahana
• Courtney Kauh
• Bradford Lee
• Marcus Marcet
• Karim Punja
• Nick Ramey
• Richard Scawn
• Joe Shovlin
• Manoj Thakkar
• Suzanne van Landingham
• Jaqueline Silva De Rezende

Don Kikkawa (the 2018 Wendell Hughes Lecturer) introduced Carol Shields as the 2019 Wendell Hughes Lecturer.

AAO Awards

Cat Burkat and Bobby Korn were among a select group who received the AAO’s 2019 Secretariat Award recognizing substantial contributions to the AAO’s educational programs. Bobby Korn also received the Senior Achievement Award, and Don Kikkawa reached the Lifetime Achievement recognition. Congratulations!

Inaugural NASAOS Course at AAO

Alon Kahana and Sara Wester directed the first ever NASAOS Course at the AAO this year. This course provided a comprehensive review of orbital imaging. I was proud to serve as one of the instructors of this excellent course. With Alon’s vision and drive, the North American Society of Academic Orbital Surgeons has grown to 68 members in 3 short years. At this year’s NASAOS meeting in Orlando, Vic Elner presented the Dortzbach Lecture on the pathopysiology of orbital inflammation.

At the AAO, Alon Kahana’s work on 5-FU injections for cicatricial pemphigoid and Stevens Johnson syndrome was honored as Best of ASOPRS at the AAO. This innovative approach looks very promising for patients who need better treatments. Keep up the great work, Alon!

2019 AAO Courses

• Cat Burkat – Cosmetic Onabotulinum toxin A and Facial Fillers
• Shubhra Goel – Periocular Rejuvenation With Fillers and Neurotoxin on Silicone Head Simulators.
• Alon Kahana – Advanced Concepts in Management of Thyroid Eye Disease
• Bobby Korn – Optimizing Outcomes and Managing Complications – a Case-Based Approach
• Kristen Tarbet – Fundamentals of Facelifting

2019 AAO Oculofacial Plastic Surgery Subspecialty Day Contributors:

• Alon Kahana – “Vismodegib and Sonidegib in Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma”
• Mark Lucarelli – “Eyelid Reconstruction: Techniques You Can Count On”
• Cat Burkat- session moderator; Changing Paradigms in Orbital Disease