On December 1, 2022, a meeting was held in Kinshasa for all French-speaking ophthalmologists and ocularists involved in the AMCC retinoblastoma program.

This meeting took place at the Hôtel du Fleuve in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, just before the start of the SAFO (Société Africaine Francophone d’Ophtalmologie) congress.

During this meeting, we discussed the current situation regarding ocular prostheses. Under the supervision of our prosthetist Allison Louvet from Paris, the prosthetists gathered at the university clinics, where they worked on Thursday and Friday and made prostheses for several children.

We then discussed the involvement of ophthalmologists in the successful and effective treatment of retinoblastoma, the research protocol planned for 2023 on a prospective study into the reasons for late diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the organization of post-treatment monitoring, life after retinoblastoma with testimonials from children who have been cured, early diagnosis actions and programs, data recording in Redcap, and finally conservative treatment and participation in web conferences.

Short videos were recorded of ophthalmologists talking about the early signs of retinoblastoma, which were then shared on social media in different countries.

On Friday, we presented a symposium on retinoblastoma to all SAFO ophthalmologists.

Thanks to Karim Assani and Pierre Bey for organizing this meeting, and to all participants for their active presence and involvement.

Karim Assani, Jenny Yanga, and I then went to Lubumbashi.

On Monday morning, December 5, we met with Professor Gaby Chenge and Dr. Sandra Iye in the operating room of the Lubumbashi University Clinics and were able to examine three children under general anesthesia. One of the children underwent laser treatment for retinoblastoma, which is currently being treated. The cryode was almost operational, but the connection tip needs to be replaced. Thus, the first conservative treatment of retinoblastoma in the Democratic Republic of Congo was performed on December 5, 2022, at the Lubumbashi University Clinics.

Thank you to the entire ophthalmology team and the anesthesiologists.