Uliana Tomkiv, Ukraine, observership report from Augenheilkunde Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Germany

I wish to thank Prof. M. Hawlina and SOE Committee for awarding me SOE educational grant, which is a unique opportunity for young ophthalmologists.  I am also very grateful to medical director Prof. Dr. med. A. Wolf. I have spent a wonderful time at Augenheilkunde Universitätsklinikum Ulm, which is a state-of-the-art ophthalmology center. The clinic is highly equipped and offers the medical care of all anterior and posterior segment pathologies. During my stay, I visited operating rooms where I was able to observe a wide range of ophthalmic surgeries ( eyelid surgery, cataract,  glaucoma surgery, posterior segment surgery). I am mostly interested in vitreoretinal surgery. I had a great opportunity to observe complicated vitreoretinal cases, discuss the steps of the operation and further tactics with colleagues.  I would like to mention that Ulm Ophthalmology Clinic also offers corneal transplantation and has its corneal bank to provide prompt medical care. It was very interesting to watch penetrating keratoplasty, DMEK, amniotic membrane transplantation. I was also involved in the work of the Intravitreal therapy center. I took part in comprehensive retina examination including imaging, check-up visits after intravitreal injections, and became familiar with the general organization of medical retina care. Furthermore, I used Eyesi Surgical, a virtual reality simulator for intraocular surgery training.

Many thanks to  Dr.med. A.Kilani, Dr.med. M.Parlak, Dr. med. Ch. Wertheimer, Dr. C.Elhardt, and all the staff for friendly atmosphere and willing to share your knowledge.

On my weekends I also had unforgettable journeys visiting Stuttgart, Lindau Insel, and Bodensee.

I returned home more motivated than ever and I will try to do my best to save my patients’ sight.