On May 15-16, the large scientific and practical conference "Filatov Readings 2025" was held, which brought together more than 800 medical professionals from 17 countries.
The scientific and practical conference brings together leading ophthalmologists from all over the world, who annually present their experience in the world of ophthalmology. The conference is open to ophthalmologists, scientists, students and trainees, family doctors and healthcare professionals.
The organizers of the conference are the V.P. Filatov State Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy and the Society of Ophthalmologists of Ukraine, with the support of the National Academy of Medical Sciences and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The event is a combination of physical and remote participation. Part of the conference is held in virtual format via an online platform.
The participants included ophthalmologists from Ukraine, Spain, Denmark, Israel, the United States, Germany, Armenia, Switzerland, Portugal, Egypt, Georgia, Japan, Poland, Italy, Turkey and San Marino.
The 2025 edition presented 158 papers on the latest methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of eye diseases. Special attention was paid to innovative technologies, personalized medicine and digital solutions to improve ophthalmology services.
As every year, the event hosted the Filatov Memorial Lecture, established to honor the memory of the great physician and his contribution to the development of national and international ophthalmology.
The speakers are domestic and foreign ophthalmologists who have achieved outstanding results in the field of ophthalmology, especially in corneal transplantation, keratoplasty, keratoprosthetics, reconstructive surgery and tissue therapy. The speaker of the Memorial Lecture receives the V.P. Filatov Medal, established in 2019 by the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine and the Filatov Institute. The 2025 Lecture was presented by Dr. José L. Güell from Barcelona, Spain.
About Filatov
Vladimir Petrovich Filatov is a legend of world ophthalmology. He was the most famous Soviet ophthalmologist and surgeon, born in Mordovia (Russian Empire) in 1875 and died in Odessa in 1956. He was the grandson of the famous Russian pediatrician Nil Fëdorovič Filatov.
His greatest discovery was the introduction of a new method of therapy for damaged tissues of the eye, in particular the cornea. Vladimir Petrovich was able to demonstrate that the same principle had the possibility of being used in every other medical field, since the tissues of every organ are able to regenerate starting from healthy material. Interestingly, his first experiment in this direction was suggested to him by the intuition he had developed in his favourite hobby, gardening. His scientific approach is summarized in his phrase: «All living tissue, cut from its support and kept in conditions of difficult survival, will create substances that will make it possible for the tissue to survive».
About the Institute
Today, there is a tissue treatment institute in Odessa that bears his name, and it is directly dependent on the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. The Institute of Experimental Ophthalmology was founded in April 1936 by a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Initially, it had a staff of 20 people. Its building on Proletarian Boulevard (now French Boulevard) was completed in 1939. In 1945, the institute was renamed in honor of its founder, Vladimir Filatov. For more than three-quarters of a century, the Institute has made a great contribution to the development of ophthalmological science in the USSR, Ukraine, and worldwide.
