Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9570
ISSN: 2155-9570
Frank LaFranco
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Clin Exp Ophthalmol
The field of retinal surgery has been progressing rapidly around the world with many options available for surgical repair of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. The preferred treatment varies markedly around the world. Primarily the two most common forms of treatment are an extraocular approach utilizing scleral indentation to close the retinal break abexterno or an intraocular approach to relieve traction on the retinal break ab interno. Professor Ingrid Kreissig has been at the forefront of retinal education for two decades. She has taught over one hundred courses around the world utilizing experienced retinal surgeons from numerous countries as her faculty for these courses. The experience and expertise of these faculty members will be documented by using a questionnaire to each faculty member presenting numerous cases and asking them to provide their strategy for deciding which of the current forms of treatment they would recommend. The respondents would represent leading retinal surgeons from the USA, Germany, England, Italy, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Japan, Romania and other countries. By analyzing the results of the questionnaire, we hope to elucidate the current strategies for the repair of retinal detachments in use today around the world.
Frank LaFranco received his M.D. degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in June 1971. His Ophthalmology training was done at Northwestern University and he continued his training at Cornell University in New York with Professor Harvey Lincoff as his retinal fellow. There he met Professor Ingrid Kreissig. Dr. Lafranco returned to Chicago, Illinois and joined the teaching staff of Northwestern University where he is currently an Assistant Professor. Dr. LaFranco has participated in over 30 of Professor Kreissig?s International Teaching Courses around the world as a faculty member speaking and many subjects related to retinal and vitreous surgery. Through her he has met and worked with many leading retinal and vitreous surgeons from China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Sudan, Romania, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany. His current project relates to assembling the collective experiences of these International lecturers to determine the current concepts being used to repair primary retinal detachments.