Annual Montgomery Lecture 2015 - RCSI, December 11, 2015

Prof dr. Marie-José Tassignon, Professor of Ophthalmology at Antwerp University Belgium

“One Design with Multiple Derivations"

The ICO was honoured to welcome Prof dr. Marie-José Tassignon, Professor of Ophthalmology at Antwerp University Belgium,  as guest speaker for this year’s Annual Montgomery Lecture which took place at the RCSI, St Stephen’s Green on Friday, December 11th.

An ophthalmic surgeon since 1985, Prof dr. Tassignon initially trained in vitreo-retinal surgery and retinal detachment.  She moved to the anterior segment of the eye in 1992 and focussed on cataract and corneal surgery but remained active in vitreo-retinal surgery, though in decreasing order of importance in surgical volume.

Professor dr. Tassignon is involved at the board level in many national and international ophthalmological societies and a renowned figure in the field of ophthalmology, mainly in the subspecialty of cataract and refractive surgery.   She has dedicated much of her research activities in the field of cataract surgery, where she developed the innovative bag-in-the-lens implantation technique to avoid the development of the so-called secondary cataract, the main complication of the traditional lens-in-the-bag implantation technique.

She is author of 7 patents; inventions related with cataract surgery and developed ophthalmic instruments in collaboration with the industry and has been successful in acquiring €5 million in grants nationally and internationally.

The title of Professor’s Tassignon Montgomery Lecture on December 11  ‘One Design with Multiple Derivations’ examined how the development of a new IOL lead to new obstacles that had to be solved. 

Prof. Tassignon said, “Ring caliper for precise ACCC needed to be designed and other rings were developed to augment capsular support in the absence of intact capsular bag. On the other hand, new insights were possible regarding the anatomy and physiology of the anterior vitreo-lenticular interface of the eye which leads to new hypothesis regarding developmental cataract”.

20th December 2015