ESCRS 2026 spotlights new IOL, glaucoma and dry eye data

The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) brings its 44th Congress to London from 11 to 15 September, at ExCeL London on the Royal Victoria Dock.¹ Organisers expect more than 15,000 delegates from over 130 countries,² for a programme spanning main and research symposia, near-live surgery, the AI Digital Summit and iNovation Day.¹

London carries particular significance for the meeting this year: it is where Sir Harold Ridley performed the first intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, at St Thomas' Hospital in 1949.² Organisers have tied that history directly to this year's opening ceremony, where the Ridley Medal Lecture, titled “The Flow of Cataract Surgery” and delivered by Oliver Findl,³ anchors a programme built around the connection between the origins, present and future of the specialty.²

David Mingo Botín, MD, PhD, FEBO, a study author on this year's TECNIS PureSee data, said the congress's educational offerings stand out this year. "What stands out this edition is the dynamic, non-traditional formats, such as the Arena Debates and 3D Global Surgical Saves, which offer fresh, highly practical perspectives on the topics that matter most to clinicians," he said. He also pointed to the ESCRS Humanitarian Service Award as a highlight, calling it "a fantastic initiative that adds a deeply meaningful dimension to the meeting."

Piotr A. Woźniak, MD, PhD, a refractive surgeon and dry eye specialist at Optegra Eye Health Care Clinic in Warsaw, Poland, told Ophthalmology Times Europe the venue itself is part of the draw. “London also has a special significance for our cataract surgery: this was the city where the first implantation was done,” he said. “The history is well connected with the future, that's why I am very excited to join the congress.”

Ahead of the congress, Alcon, Bausch + Lomb and Johnson & Johnson have detailed some of the data and technology they plan to bring. Here is what to look out for by clinical area.

Presbyopia-correcting and premium IOLs

Alcon will highlight Clareon PanOptix Pro, a trifocal IOL the company says delivers 94% light utilisation, up from 88% for the original Clareon PanOptix, and the European launch of Clareon TruPlus, an enhanced monofocal IOL built on the company’s Opti-Balance Technology. Three data presentations on Clareon PanOptix Pro are scheduled, including a prospective real-world evaluation of binocular visual performance from David Gunn, MBBS, FRANZCO, and bench data comparisons against TECNIS Odyssey (Johnson & Johnson) from a study by William Xu, MD presented by Kamal Das, PhD, MBA.⁴

Johnson & Johnson’s ESCRS presence includes several investigator-initiated studies on its TECNIS portfolio. A real-world retrospective comparison of TECNIS PureSee outcomes in post-LASIK eyes versus non-LASIK controls, presented by Botín found monocular uncorrected distance visual acuity of 20/24 in the post-LASIK group versus 20/23 in controls, with 93% of post-LASIK eyes and 77% of control eyes within ±0.50 D of target refraction.

Botín said IOL calculation and presbyopia correction are among the areas he's watching closely at this year's meeting. "I am particularly focused on following the latest advances in IOL calculation, as well as the evolving strategies for presbyopia correction driven by the wide variety of new optical designs," he said.

Clare O'Donnell, PhD will present a separate prospective evaluation of TECNIS PureSee outcomes following bilateral refractive lensectomy on behalf of Alise Kalteniece, PhD. Nic J. Reus, MD, PhD and Helena Noguera Nuñez, MD will separately present visual and functional outcomes data for TECNIS Odyssey, a full-range-of-vision diffractive IOL, while Ashmal Jameel, MD and David O'Brart, MD, FRCS, FRCOphth, DO RefCert, will present final results from a randomised controlled study comparing spectacle independence between TECNIS Eyhance Toric and Acrysof IQ Toric (Alcon) IOLs in a public health-sector population. A separate Sunday session will present multicentric randomised controlled trial data comparing TECNIS PureSee against a TECNIS 1-Piece monofocal control.⁶

Three further TECNIS studies not funded by the company will also be presented at the congress: two from Frank Kerkhoff, MD, PhD on outcomes in refractive lens exchange patients with ocular comorbidities and on enhancement rates across full-range-of-vision IOL platforms, and one from Richard Mcneely, PhD on outcomes following implantation of a refractive partial-range-of-field IOL in eyes with prior laser refractive surgery.⁶

Bausch + Lomb’s podium and poster programme includes real-world outcomes data on its enVista Envy and enVista Aspire IOLs, presented by F. Castro, C. McCabe and others, alongside an IME symposium case study on enVista Envy from Belén Alfonso Bartolozzi, MD, PhD. The company’s LuxLife IOL will also feature across several of the 30 data presentations and posters it is bringing to the congress.⁵

Surgical platforms and workflow

Alcon is showcasing UNITY Cataract System (CS), part of its next-generation UNITY surgical platform, alongside the UNITY M microscope and UNITY GPS, a new image-guidance system the company says connects clinic-to-operating-room workflow; UNITY GPS is expected to become available in Japan and Italy later this month. Three abstracts on UNITY VCS|CS performance are on the programme: ultrasound energy delivery data from Ivo Ferreira, MD, anterior chamber stability findings from Hisaharu Suzuki, MD, PhD and real-world console set-up data from research by Lawrence Woodard, MD presented by Li-Chen Pan.⁴

Bausch + Lomb will demonstrate its SeeLuma intraoperative OCT platform paired with enVista Envy in a case-based symposium session on 12 September, alongside the TENEO Excimer Laser Platform for refractive procedures.⁵

Glaucoma

Alcon will feature Voyager Direct Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (DSLT) and the Hydrus Microstent among its glaucoma-related innovations.⁴ Bausch + Lomb has a larger data presence in this area: several podium and poster presentations report on excimer laser trabeculostomy combined with cataract surgery, including 18-month effectiveness data from Vittorio De Grande, MD, 5-year IOP and visual field follow-up from Antonio Moreno-Valladares, MD, PhD, and a real-world safety and effectiveness study in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension from Lisa M. Nijm, MD, JD.⁵

Ocular surface and dry eye

Dry eye disease research features prominently in Bausch + Lomb’s programme. Marc Labetoulle, MD, PhD will present podium data on managing dry eye before and after refractive surgery, alongside a separate poster evaluating an ectoine-containing ophthalmic solution for dry eye disease. A further poster from Wassim Altroudi, MD reports real-world clinical outcomes and eye care practitioner satisfaction with the company’s Artelac lubricating drops.⁵ Woźniak’s own research, discussed above, also centres on dry eye disease, reflecting a broader focus on the ocular surface across this year’s scientific programme.

ESCRS 2026 runs 11 to 15 September at ExCeL London. Full programme details and registration are available at congress.escrs.org.¹

References
1. European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. 44th Congress of the ESCRS: programme. Accessed September 8, 2026. https://congress.escrs.org/programme/
2. European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. An interview with Professor Burkhard Dick on ESCRS London 2026. Published 2026. Accessed September 8, 2026. https://www.escrs.org/channels/news/an-interview-with-professor-burkhard-dick-on-escrs-london-2026
3. European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. Ridley Medal Lecture 2026. Accessed September 8, 2026. https://congress.escrs.org/programme/ridley-medal-lecture-2026/
4. Alcon Inc. Clareon PanOptix Pro and the UNITY Platform Lead Alcon's Surgical Innovations at ESCRS 2026 [media release]. September 8, 2026.
5. Bausch + Lomb Corporation. Bausch + Lomb announces new scientific data, educational events at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual congress [press release]. September 3, 2026. Accessed September 8, 2026. https://ir.bausch.com/press-releases/bausch-lomb-announces-new-scientific-data-educational-events-european-society-1
6. Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson to host comprehensive peer-to-peer education program featuring leading experts in refractive and cataract surgery [press release]. September 8, 2026.