Eye care's biggest week: AAO 2026 brings 20,000-plus to the Morial Convention Center
The American Academy of Ophthalmology's annual meeting runs Oct. 9-12, billed as the world's largest congress for eye-care professionals, with the Expo and product launches running through Monday.
NEW ORLEANS: More than 20,000 ophthalmologists, subspecialists, residents and ophthalmic team members are expected at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center this weekend for AAO 2026, the American Academy of Ophthalmology's annual meeting.
The meeting runs Oct. 9-12: Subspecialty Day programming on Friday and Saturday, then the main scientific program and the Expo from Saturday through Monday, according to the Academy.
Ophthalmology Times bills the gathering as "the world's largest congress for eye-care professionals." A separate industry meeting guide also puts expected attendance above 20,000.
For the city's visitor economy, that is the good kind of problem: thousands of hotel rooms, restaurant covers and streetcar rides over four days in mid-October.
On the Expo floor, Haag-Streit USA and Marco Lombart announced the U.S. launch of the Octopus 910, a full-field projection perimeter for glaucoma management, making its U.S. debut at the meeting.
AAO 2026 is the flagship meeting of the presidential year of Christopher J. Rapuano, the Academy's 130th president, who has made emergency eye care a centerpiece of his term. The Academy's tagline for the gathering is "Where All of Ophthalmology Meets."
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