AAO 2025 Conference Preview for Glaucoma Sessions

Published: September 21, 2025

The annual conference of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is just one month away. Set for Orlando, Florida, on October 18 through October 20, the AAO 2025 annual meeting has a packed schedule of presentations for both in-person and virtual attendees. In addition to the annual meeting, the AAOE Practice Management Program and AAOP Clinical Teams Program run from October 17 through October 20.

Registration for the annual meeting is now open, with multiple registration options available. Parents can even sign up their children (6 months to 12 years of age) for Camp AAO, a child care option for in-person attendees.

With three days packed full of instructional courses, clinical sessions, research paper presentations, lectures, and more, we wanted to take a few moments to preview some of the currently planned sessions featuring glaucoma topics.

The following times and dates are accurate as of September 17, 2025. For a complete view of the AAO 2025 conference schedule, visit the official website.

Friday, October 17

Practical Tips in Glaucoma Management

8:03 AM – 9:14 AM
Description: This session will discuss topics including OCT interpretation, minimally invasive glaucoma therapy, traditional glaucoma surgery, improving efficiency in the operating room, and more.

Glaucoma Group Therapy – Surgical Complications

9:14 AM – 10:53 AM
Description: This session is set to feature topics including challenges in bleb management, intraoperative hemorrhage during gonioscopy assisted transluminal trabeculotomy, complications in canaloplasty, and more.

The 2025 American Glaucoma Society Subspecialty Day Lecture

11:50 AM – 1:43 PM
Description: This session is split into a discussion on personalized glaucoma care, the award presentation, and a lunch period.

Challenging Cataracts in Glaucoma Patients

1:43 PM – 2:41 PM
Description: This session will discuss topics including choosing IOLs in glaucoma patients, zonular dehiscence, minimally invasive procedure challenges, and more.

Caring for Glaucoma Patients Now and in the Future

2:41 PM – 4:08 PM
Description: This session features topics including automated diagnostics and decision support, shared care models, gaps in current glaucoma care, and more.

Saturday, October 18

Glaucoma Tube Shunts to Equatorial Plate Reservoir

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Description: The first part of a two-part lecture/lab course, this is a didactic, stand-alone lecture covering the indications, pathophysiology, surgical technique, postoperative management, clinical trials and complications of glaucoma tube shunts to equatorial plate reservoir.

iGlaucoma: The Latest Innovations in Glaucoma Therapy

8:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Description: The field of glaucoma is currently experiencing an expansive period of clinical innovation, with new diagnostic, medical, laser and surgical treatments becoming available within the past year. This course will discuss: new therapies that have a range of mechanisms of action; delivery mechanisms for glaucoma medicines that are currently in the final stage of clinical testing, with promising results; and laser and surgical treatments that have improved safety profiles and ease of use.

Surgical Management of Glaucoma (Ask the Experts)

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Description: This entirely virtual format provides an opportunity to connect with experts. In these real-time 30-minute sessions, co-hosts discuss a topic live on camera. Attendees watch on their own devices, and participate by sending questions through chat for the experts to answer. Join this event from anywhere with the internet, by logging into the AAO 2025 Virtual Meeting.

Comparative Performance of Machine Learning and Human Graders for Glaucoma Diagnosis from Fundus Images in a Population Study

10:21 AM – 10:28 AM
Description: To compare the accuracy of machine learning (ML) versus human grader–ascertained vertical cup-disc-ratio (VCDR) from fundus images for glaucoma detection in a population-based study.

Insights from the SIDICS Tool: Exploring the Carbon Footprint of Glaucoma Surgery

10:33 AM – 10:40 AM
Description: Materials used in glaucoma surgery carry a considerable carbon footprint. Surgical packs contribute 58.6% of these emissions on average. Surgical pack optimization can result in substantial carbon savings at scale.

Severity of Glaucoma at Initial Presentation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

10:45 AM – 10:52 AM
Description: Advanced glaucoma at presentation is linked to worse clinical outcomes. Exploring differences in presenting severity enables comparisons across health-care systems and may reflect regional effectiveness of case detection.

Management of Cataracts in the Setting of Complex Glaucoma and Corneal and Anterior Segment Pathology

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
Description: Patients with complex anterior segment pathology often present with difficult cataracts in the presence of underlying glaucoma and corneal pathology. Cataract surgery in the presence of coexisting anterior segment pathology is complicated and often requires the comanagement of the underlying glaucoma and corneal pathology.

Challenging Interactive Cases in Childhood Glaucoma: Diagnosis and Treatment from A to Z

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
Description: This course will offer practical advice about examining, diagnosing and indicating treatment in a child with glaucoma. A diverse panel of experts will present interactive clinical scenarios, from basic and common, straightforward presentations that should not be missed to more complex and challenging cases with important learning points.

From Barbados to Your Clinic: Advanced Glaucoma Topics for the Ophthalmic Medical Technician

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Description: This course covers essential glaucoma care, combining hands-on techniques with community-focused strategies. Learn from the experience of glaucoma management in Barbados, where technicians support advanced disease care, assist with surgeries and lead screening efforts.

Are We Overtreating Patients with Early Glaucoma and Undertreating Patients with Advanced Disease?

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Description: Patients with glaucoma may experience considerable vision loss due to delayed diagnosis or interruptions in their treatment regimen. Therefore, the timely identification and management of glaucoma are crucial in preventing damage to the optic nerve and subsequent loss of visual field. Accurate management can be challenging, however.

Practical UBM in Assessing Glaucoma: What You Should Know

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Description: This course is intended to provide ophthalmologists with practical techniques and parameters for the performance of high-quality ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) examination of the anterior segment using high-resolution ultrasound and optical coherence tomography correlation, with special application in glaucoma.

Evidence-based Guidelines from Recent Landmark Trials and Studies in Glaucoma

3:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Description: This course will summarize the evidence-based guidelines from recent landmark trials and studies in glaucoma. Representative clinical cases will also be presented. In addition to focusing on traditional glaucoma surgeries, an update on recent trials exploring minimally invasive glaucoma surgery devices will be provided.

Sunday, October 19

OCT in Glaucoma: What’s Real Disease and What’s Red Disease?

9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Description: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become an important tool for diagnosing glaucoma and detecting glaucoma progression. Using a combination of didactic lecture and case examples, this course will present the interpretation of OCT images for glaucoma diagnosis and progression, primarily relying on the Cirrus (Zeiss) OCT platform.

Mastering Childhood Glaucoma Surgical Techniques

9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Description: This course covers the basic practical principles and pearls for mastering surgery in pediatric glaucoma. Three-dimensional printed eye models and cadaver eyes will be used to provide hands-on practice in goniotomy, trabeculotomy ab interno, trabeculotomy ab externo, deep sclerectomy, shunts and cyclodestruction.

Case Studies in Glaucoma: Management Directed by the Preferred Practice Patterns Guidelines

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
Description: The presenters, members of the Preferred Practice Patterns Glaucoma Committee, will use the evidence-based recommendations from the recently updated Glaucoma Preferred Practice Patterns (PPPs) to provide the comprehensive ophthalmologist with a better understanding of current recommendations for the diagnosis, follow-up and treatment for glaucoma.

Postural Variation in Ocular Perfusion Pressure in Glaucoma Patients and Controls

2:00 PM – 2:07 PM
Description: This is a presentation of a study on postural variations in ocular perfusion pressure in glaucoma patients and controls. This prospective, randomized case-control study included primary open-angle glaucoma subjects and healthy controls aged ≥40.

Glaucoma Laser Therapy: Innovations and Advice from the Experts

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Description: This course provides a comprehensive review of the laser procedures used to treat glaucoma. Topics discussed include selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP), transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TSCPC) with diode and micropulse, iridotomy (Nd:YAG, argon and diode), iridoplasty, laser suture lysis, excimer laser trabeculostomy (ELT) and femtosecond laser trabeculotomy (FLigHT).

Spotting Glaucoma Masqueraders on OCT: Multisubspecialty Insights

3:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Description: In this course, glaucoma, retina and neuro-ophthalmology specialists and an ophthalmic pathologist will provide practical guides on how to spot glaucoma masqueraders on optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Monday, October 20

The Wonderful World of Glaucoma: Five Key Things You Should Know in 2025

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Description: This session discusses topics including normal-tension glaucoma, new imaging techniques for narrow angles, if premium lenses are good for glaucoma patients, and more.

Minimally Invasive Surgery for Glaucoma Management in Cataract Patients: Canaloplasty and Trabecular Meshwork Cutting Procedures

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Description: This course will introduce stent-free angle-based minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries (MIGS) to cataract surgeons who have no experience with these procedures.