A History of BEAVRS

They were supported by their consultant "mentors" David McLeod, Tony Chignell and Peter Leaver, who took great pleasure in their fellows taking the idea forward. The first meeting was held at Keeble College, Oxford in July 1986.

In the naming of the new society there was a wish to include both parts of Ireland and discussion first pointed to the "BRITISH and IRISH ASSOCIATION…". However, the neat acronym "BEAVRS" became apparent and BRITISH and EIRE ASSOCIATION OF VITREORETINAL SURGEONS became the preferred title.

The initial principles for the BEAVRS annual meeting were that everyone who attended should present and that problems would be discussed in an uninhibited but friendly fashion. The meeting was also to be itinerant being both hosted and organised locally.

The Founding of BEAVRS

Charlie James, Paul Jacobs and David Wong are recognised as the founders of BEAVRS in 1986.

From 1993 BEAVRS have had an international visiting speaker who has given a guest lecture and contributed to discussion at the meeting. The list of luminaries invited has included Alain Gaudric, Peter Wiedermann, Carl Claes, Michael Trese, Cynthia Toth, Berndt Kirkhoff, George Williams, Jan Van Meurs, Don D'Amico, Ian Constable, Arndt Gandorfer, Stanislaw Rizzo, Kirk Packo, Steve Charles and Antonia Jouseen.

The visiting lecturer was initially sponsored by Alcon, but from 2012 onwards it has been the BEAVRS visiting lecturer and is jointly funded by all the meeting sponsors.

The Development of the Society

For the first 24 years of its existence the Society prided itself on having no formal structure. However, the size of the meeting became such that this would place an untenable financial burden on the host unit.

A decision was therefore unanimously taken at the 2009 BEAVRS meeting in Amsterdam to formalise the structure of the Society and the first board was elected in 2010 at the meeting held at Celtic Manor, Wales.

Subsequently we have accrued a war chest with which to underwrite the meeting and other BEAVRS activity, advised on revalidation and set up an online National Retinal Detachment Audit.

BEAVRS Annual Meetings

More recently BEAVRS has been held in:

Guest Lectures and Growth

Over recent years guest lectures have been given by world renowned ophthalmologists of the time, including Wilson Heriot, Yannick le Mer, Thomas Wolfensberger, Grazia Pertile, Morten de la Cour, Ferenc Kuhn, Peter Szurman, and Marc de Smet.

In 2020 BEAVRS was unable to meet in person due to the Covid pandemic, but a virtual meeting was held. Since then, it returned with a face to face meeting, with simultaneous streaming.

Nowadays there are around 300 delegates in person and online: a far cry from the original small group that met in 1986.

Research, Audit and Education

BEAVRS as an organisation has worked with the Royal College of Ophthalmology on various initiatives.

The establishment of the BEAVRS databases for retinal detachment repair and macular hole repair have not only provided data to improve patient care but also provided personal audit for the contributing surgeons. Many publications have come out of this work and more will follow.

BEAVRS provides research grants to its members engaged in work to further enhance the treatment of retinal disorders.

The educational offering for trainee vitreoretinal surgeons has been enhanced, and currently we run 3 Simulated Scleral Buckling Courses and 2 Introductory Posterior Vitrectomy courses a year, together with educational material on our website and webinars.