June 2025 was a particularly active month for Dr. Dion Paridaens, MD, PhD, President of the European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ESOPRS) and Consultant Oculoplastic Surgeon at the ELZA Institute. Over the course of two weeks, he contributed to three major international meetings in Portugal and Spain, highlighting surgical insights and fostering cross-society collaboration in oculoplastic surgery.
The first stop was Lisbon, where Dr. Paridaens co-moderated two joint symposia at SOE 2025.
On June 8, he and Dr. Ken Morgenstern (ASOPRS Past President) led the ASOPRS–ESOPRS Joint Symposium, titled Oculoplastics: Pearls, Tricks and Tips. This session offered a focused exchange on surgical management of eyelid malpositions and periocular trauma. Talks included Reza Vagefi (USA) on lacrimal system trauma, Elin Bohman (Sweden) on entropion/ectropion repair, and Peter Timoney (USA) on blepharoplasty pitfalls. Dr. Paridaens contributed a presentation on eyelid reconstruction, drawing on clinical experience from Rotterdam Eye Hospital and ELZA.
On June 9, Dr. Paridaens joined Dr. Kasturi Bhattacharjee (APSOPRS President) to moderate a second APSOPRS–ESOPRS Joint Symposium, this time, focused on oculofacial rejuvenation and blepharoptosis surgery. Presentations ranged from midface rejuvenation (Georgescu, via video) to anterior levator resection for congenital ptosis (Paridaens), as well as internal and external techniques for acquired ptosis by Akshay Nair and Francesco Quaranta-Leoni, respectively. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien and Bhattacharjee presented on brow lifting and injectable fillers.
Later that week, from June 11–13, Dr. Paridaens served as keynote speaker at the XXXIV Congress of the Spanish Society of Oculoplastic Surgery (SECOP) in Santander. His sessions included lectures on orbital xanthogranuloma, thyroid eye disease, novel techniques in eyelid reconstruction, and participation in a roundtable on orbital disease and thyroid antibodies. Held at the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos and attended by over 500 specialists, SECOP 2025 served as a bridge between European and Latin American oculoplastic communities.
Across these meetings, Dr. Paridaens represented ESOPRS, Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Erasmus MC, and the ELZA Institute. The atmosphere was collegial, the exchange of ideas was candid, and the focus remained clear: advancing periocular surgery through open dialogue, critical thinking, and experience-based practice.
