“There are places where history does not merely remain, it continues to teach us. Florence is one of them. There, the integration of art, thought, and science reminds us that excellence should not be the vanity of wanting to be the best, but the discipline of becoming better, evolving, and serving with purpose.
It was in this spirit, thinking about keratoconus, the need for a multimodal vision, and also the human dimension of care, something that voices such as Violet June help illuminate, that I experienced a very special moment at the 3rd World Keratoconus Congress 2026.
This moment had an even greater personal meaning because I was in Florence alongside my wife, Renata Siqueira, an ophthalmologist whose company inspired me even more throughout such a rich event, filled with science, reflection, and meaningful encounters.
Sharing this experience with her made everything even more special and complete.
Receiving the Lorenzo il Magnifico Medal Lecture and the Il Perugino Medal Lecture had, for me, a meaning that went beyond academic recognition. In these honors, I saw an authentic connection with the ideas I have been advocating in medicine, refractive surgery, and especially in the care of patients with keratoconus.
Il Perugino
The Lorenzo il Magnifico Medal Lecture refers to Lorenzo de Medici, “the Magnificent,” a symbol of the Florentine Renaissance and of the integration of art, thought, culture, and innovation. For this reason, its connection with the theme of my lecture, “Keratoconus multimodal diagnosis, a paradigm shift,” felt especially meaningful. To speak about multimodal diagnosis is precisely to defend a new way of seeing. No longer a reading limited to a single dimension, but rather an integration of data, topography, tomography, biomechanics, epithelium, and applied intelligence, in order to better understand ectasia susceptibility and individualize decision-making.
Planejamento Individualizado
The Il Perugino Medal Lecture, in turn, refers to Pietro Perugino, a master of harmony, proportion, and aesthetic clarity. This reference resonated very naturally with the theme of my second lecture, “Cornea first, regularizing corneal shape and HOAs before IOLs implantation in keratoconus.”
The two medals, each in its own way, symbolize values that I consider central. The first, integration and paradigm shift. The second, clarity, balance, and refinement. What they share is something greater, the pursuit of a medicine that is deeper, more precise, and more human.
I receive these honors with gratitude, but also with responsibility. Because the true value of a distinction lies not only in the honor it represents, but in the commitment to continue serving with seriousness, discernment, and purpose.
Renato Ambrósio Jr.
April 21, 2026
