Category: BrAVO

 

BrAVO statement on reports of acute bilateral dry eye in dogs

Members of BrAVO are conducting an independent UK-wide investigation into an apparent increase in dogs presenting with acute bilateral keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), or dry eye.

More than 200 cases have now been reported through the BrAVO survey. These reports are currently being validated and analysed, and not all affected dogs have been fed the same diet.

A possible association with diet has been raised in some cases, including dogs fed Years and other pet foods. At present, however, no causal relationship has been established between KCS and any particular food, ingredient or manufacturer. BrAVO considers it important that conclusions are not drawn before the available clinical data have been properly assessed. The BrAVO investigation is entirely independent. Years has had no involvement in the collection, validation, analysis or interpretation of BrAVO data.

David Williams is providing Years with separate expert veterinary ophthalmology advice. He is not acting on behalf of BrAVO and is not involved in the KCS study or working group. The working group continues to ask veterinary surgeons to report all relevant cases of acute KCS, irrespective of the diet being fed. Collecting cases across a broad range of diets and circumstances is essential if we are to determine whether any genuine association exists and to investigate other possible contributing factors.

We are asking veterinary surgeons who have encountered dogs presenting with acute bilateral KCS to complete the case survey following this link.

Survey Link

We would also strongly advise owners not to stop prescribed treatment for dry eye unless advised to do so by their veterinary surgeon or veterinary ophthalmologist. In some affected dogs, a significant injury to the tear-producing glands is suspected. Even if diet is ultimately shown to be a contributing factor, changing diet alone may not restore tear production. Stopping treatment prematurely could increase the risk of permanent loss of tear gland function, resulting in irreversible and painful dry eye that may threaten sight and significantly affect quality of life.

The investigation remains ongoing and the study group will report its findings when the data have been sufficiently validated and analysed to allow meaningful conclusions to be drawn.

CALL FOR PHOTOS!!!!

There are many highly proficient photographers in our Bravo membership midst and for years we have been proudly showing off our best photos to anyone who would give them a cursory glance.

Well, there is finally an appropriate outlet for them:

 

Introducing to the BrAVO Winter Meeting 2026

The INAUGURAL BrAVO PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

Whether you’ve captured an ocular oddity, a funky fundus, a show stopping surgery or simply a cheeky candid photo depicting life in veterinary ophthalmology, we want to see it!

*****Submission Deadline: 30^th October 2026*****

The categories are…..

1. Clinical: Spectocular Cases

Clinical photographs, intra-operative images and other examples of veterinary ophthalmology at its most visually stunning

 

2. Silly: Eyes and Lows

The category for photographs that make us laugh, cry or question our life choices

First place £100 cash prize for each category!

££££££

Rules

Eligibility

The competition is open to BrAVO members only and you must be attending the Winter Meeting for a minimum of one day.

Entry Limit

One entry per category per person. I appreciate that some of you have entire hard drives filled with eye photographs, but difficult choices must be made.

Original Work

Images must have been taken by the entrant. I have no way of verifying this, but I am trusting you all to submit your own work.

AI need not apply

Basic editing (cropping, colour correction, exposure adjustments) is permitted but AI-generated images are NOT! Your entry will be unceremoniously rejected from the competition and your drink ticket might mysteriously go missing if there is even a whiff of a computer generated imagery.

Keep it professional-ish

Images containing nudity, excessive debauchery or anything likely to bring our profession into disrepute will be disqualified from the competition, but may be circulated privately in the BrAVO committee WhatsApp group or forwarded to the local constabulary.

*Important and Serious*

GDPR Compliance

Photographs containing identifiable people or patients must comply with all applicable GDPR and confidentiality requirements. Where individuals can be identified, written consent for photographic use must have been obtained and submitted with your entries.

By entering, participants confirm that the image is their own work, that they have the necessary permissions to submit it, and that its display will not breach client confidentiality, patient confidentiality, data protection rules, or workplace policy.

The organisers reserve the right to reject entries that do not meet the rules, are unsuitable for display, are of insufficient resolution, or raise consent/confidentiality concerns.

Use of Images

By entering, participants grant BrAVO permission to display submitted images:

• During the Winter Meeting
• On official BrAVO social media
• In newsletters

Appropriate credit will always be given and you will retain copyright of your image.

Please note that audience members may photograph displayed entries. While this will be discouraged, realistically I have very little control over what delegates choose to do once images are on display.

If you are uncomfortable with your image potentially being photographed and shared by others, please consider this carefully before submitting. Ultimately, this competition is intended to be a bit of fun, and by entering you acknowledge that displayed images may be viewed and photographed by meeting attendees.

Finally, by entering the competition, you agree to these rules.

Submission Requirements

The submission deadline is 30^th October 2026

Entries will be anonymised when displayed for judging but must include

• Photograph title (max 10 words-ish)
• A short description or comment (Max 50 words-ish). This could include species, diagnosis or suspected diagnosis, imaging modality or a short caption

Please state the category you wish to enter – I don’t want to offend anyone by putting their clinical image in the silly category and vice versa.

Image specifications

Accepted formats:

• JPG
• PNG
• TIFF
• Anything that will open on my computer

Image Quality:

Images will be printed at approximately A4 size and both portrait and landscape orientations will be accepted.

Ideally, images should be 300 DPI (2480 × 3508 pixels) to ensure good print quality.

For reference:

• A smartphone photo is usually 3000 – 8000 pixels on the long edge
• A DSLR image is usually 4000 – 8000+ pixels on the long edge

Clinical Category: Please submit the highest resolution version available. I reserve the right to reject entries that appear noticeably pixelated when enlarged.

Silly Category: Silliness will always be prioritised over technical perfection in this category. Phone photographs are welcome, provided they can be displayed on the big screen/printed without looking like a mosaic.

In general, if the image looked sharp when you took it and hasn’t been repeatedly screenshotted, edited, emailed, downloaded and re-uploaded, it will probably be fine.

 

Judging

All Winter Meeting attendees will be invited to vote for their favourite image in each category.

Winners will be determined by popular vote.  In the unlikely event of a tie, the deciding vote will be cast by the Photography Competition Head Judge (that’s me). For the avoidance of doubt, I will remain completely impartial (but highly judgemental) and will not be submitting any photos.  Other SciCom members are welcome to submit entries.

Exhibition

Entries will be printed on the finest quality photographic paper the BrAVO treasurers will allow me to buy without impacting the ticket price.  Photographs will be displayed in the exhibition area, on the big screen and will also be available to view online for the duration of the meeting.

Category winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner

Please send your entries to  josie.parker@ed.ac.uk before the closing date. Large files that can’t be sent via email can be transferred using Dropbox, Teams or WeTransfer.

Ultimately, it’s free to enter and have your photo printed and admired, plus you could win some cash, so get snapping!

Very best wishes,

Josie

Head Judge of the Inaugural BrAVO Photography Competition

BrAVO Scientific Committee

PS: This is the first photography competition I have run, so I fully expect there to be at least one glaring omission, several minor f—ups and possibly an entirely new category of mistake that nobody has encountered before so please let me know if I’ve missed something important! Thanks J

It is with deep sadness that we announce that Christine Heinrich passed away on Saturday
13th September.

Christine was at the forefront of veterinary ophthalmology in the UK and across the world. Committed to both clinical practice and teaching, she has inspired many of us with her enthusiasm for her subject, and her kindness in sharing all her knowledge with others. She was always helpful, inspiring, and generous with her suggestions and support. Christine has long been a member of BrAVO, its various committees and is a past President. Her commitment and contribution to the organisation was ongoing and will be hard to replace. Her presence at BrAVO meetings would simultaneously give greater academic weight to the proceedings while elevating the joy of any post meeting celebrations. Her skills for karaoke and dancing will always bring smiles to the faces of any who knew her.

Christine was a giant in our world, both in ophthalmology and in her presence in our lives. She will be sorely missed.

We have released a new version of the BrAVO website. This will continue to be updated over the coming weeks.

We welcome feedback and suggestions, please send to web@bravo.org.uk .