A synopsis of global frontiers in fertility preservation.

Since 2007, the Oncofertility Consortium Annual Conference has brought together a diverse network of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and professional levels to disseminate emerging basic and clinical research findings in fertility preservation. This network also developed enduring educational materials to accelerate the pace and quality of field-wide scientific communication. Between 2007 and 2019, the Oncofertility Consortium Annual Conference was held as an in-person event in Chicago, IL. The conference attracted approximately 250 attendees each year representing 20 countries around the world. In 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this paradigm and precluded an in-person meeting. Nevertheless, there remained an undeniable demand for the oncofertility community to convene. To maintain the momentum of the field, the Oncofertility Consortium hosted a day-long virtual meeting on March 5, 2021, with the theme of "Oncofertility Around the Globe" to highlight the diversity of clinical care and translational research that is ongoing around the world in this discipline. This virtual meeting was hosted using the vFairs ® conference platform and allowed over 700 people to participate, many of whom were first-time conference attendees. The agenda featured concurrent sessions from presenters in six continents which provided attendees a complete overview of the field and furthered our mission to create a global community of oncofertility practice. This paper provides a synopsis of talks delivered at this event and highlights the new advances and frontiers in the fields of oncofertility and fertility preservation around the globe from clinical practice and patient-centered efforts to translational research.

A new combined scleral ring-blepharostat for cataract surgery.

A new combined scleral ring and blepharostat for cataract surgery is introduced. It is a modification of the McNeil-Goldman ring blepharostat. The new ring-blepharostat provides protection against anterior scleral collapse, separates the lids and fixates the globe. It is recommended for use in all high risk cataract surgery.

Prevention of surface bacterial contamination of donor corneas.

A simple method has been developed to reduce contamination in postmortem donor human eyes in anticipation of corneal transplantation. In vivo investigation of albino rabbits demonstrates that vigorous saline solution irrigation is extremely effective in decreasing the surface bacterial counts of the postmortem eye. In vitro and in vivo studies show that Neosporin kills bacteria at room temperature and further show that a tenfold increase in the thimerosal concentration of the Neosporin will kill fungus. Postmortem eyes contaminated by pathogenic organisms can be effectively cleaned by a combination of saline solution irrigation and the new Neosporin-thimerosal solution. No substantial damage of the donor tissue was noted by scanning electron microscopy. Human eyes cultured before this procedure were all contaminated, but after cleansing and immersion, no bacterial or fungal growth occurred.

Atypical pterygium. A clinical feature of Terrien's marginal degeneration.

Three case reports illustrate a manifestation of Terrien's marginal corneal degeneration, the pseudopterygium. When present, the pseudopterygium has a characteristic appearance, which is of diagnostic value. This condition occurs at positions other than the 3- and 9-o'clock positions, and it grows onto the cornea at an oblique axis and has a rather broad, flat, leading edge. The pseudopterygium may appear extremely early in the disease when the marginal furrow may still be a subtle finding.

Combined scleral ring and blepharostat.

A modified Legrand scleral ring served three important functions: it prevented anterior scleral buckling and collapse, it separated the eyelids to give good surgical field exposure, and it provided firm fixation for the globe during trephining and suturing.