Univ. Prof. Dr. Birgit Lackner
Every national medical society has a small number of specialists who set the standard for their field. In Austrian oculoplastic surgery, that responsibility currently rests with Univ.-Prof. Dr. Birgit Lackner.
As Chair of the Commission for Oculoplastic Surgery (Orbit and Dacryology) of the Austrian Ophthalmological Society (ÖOG), she leads the body that shapes standards, training, and scientific exchange in eyelid, orbital, and lacrimal surgery across Austria. She combines this national role with clinical practice at the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry of the Medical University of Vienna and her own practices in Vienna and Ebreichsdorf.
For the Lid Summit, her presence carries particular weight: she is not only a highly experienced oculoplastic surgeon, but the person currently responsible for how this subspecialty develops in Austria.
From Harvard to Vienna: A Broad Clinical Foundation
Prof. Lackner studied medicine at the University of Vienna and qualified as a general practitioner in 2004, working at Wilhelminenspital, the Glanzing children's clinic, and Krankenhaus Floridsdorf. She then completed her specialist training in ophthalmology and optometry at the University Eye Clinic of Vienna General Hospital (AKH).
Her training was deliberately broad. She rotated through the full range of the department's specialist clinics: intraocular lens implantation, refractive surgery, corneal disease, oculoplastic surgery and lacrimal disorders, neuro-ophthalmology, diabetic retinopathy, and the ophthalmic emergency service. She also completed a research and clinical stay at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, focusing on refractive surgery.
She subsequently served as Senior Consultant (Oberärztin) at the University Eye Clinic with a clinical focus on oculoplastic surgery — the specialty that has defined her career since.
“The periorbital region is unforgiving. A tumour excision that is too cautious risks recurrence; one that is too aggressive costs the patient function and appearance they cannot get back. Getting that balance right, every time, is the whole discipline.”
Clinical and Research Focus: Eyelid Tumours and the Lacrimal System
Prof. Lackner's specialty is oculoplastic and lacrimal surgery, with a research focus on periorbital tumours, eyelid malpositions, lacrimal drainage surgery, and refractive surgery.
Her work on basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in the eyelid region is particularly relevant to hands-on eyelid surgery training. BCC is the most common tumour of the periorbital region, and its management poses a distinct surgical problem: the tumour must be excised completely, yet the eyelid must remain functional afterwards.
She is corresponding author of the review "BCC Update — Diagnostik und Therapie" in Spektrum der Augenheilkunde, addressing diagnosis and treatment including locally advanced and metastatic disease. She is also a co-author of "Long-term results after surgical basal cell carcinoma excision in the eyelid region: revisited" — a long-term outcome analysis of surgical BCC excision produced by the Vienna oculoplastic group alongside colleagues including Prof. Andreas Kuchar, who also joins the Lid Summit faculty.
The clinical stakes are well documented: periocular basal cell carcinoma requires complete excision with careful margin control, because incomplete removal carries a substantial risk of recurrence and of invasion into the orbit and lacrimal system.
Dacryology: The Overlooked Half of Oculoplastics
Prof. Lackner's second major focus is lacrimal surgery — the diagnosis and treatment of tear drainage disorders. This is an area that receives comparatively little attention in general ophthalmology training, yet it is inseparable from eyelid surgery in practice.
The eyelid and the lacrimal system function as one unit. Every blink pumps tears through the canaliculi. An eyelid that sits too loose, too tight, or in the wrong position disrupts that pump — producing epiphora, chronic irritation, and ocular surface disease. Conversely, tumour excision or reconstruction near the medial canthus can damage the drainage system directly.
Surgeons who understand both domains operate with a decisive advantage. Prof. Lackner's dual expertise — reflected in the very name of the ÖOG commission she chairs, Oculoplastic Surgery (Orbit and Dacryology) — makes her one of the few Austrian specialists who covers this territory completely.
National Leadership: Chairing the ÖOG Commission
The ÖOG Commission for Oculoplastic Surgery brings together Austria's leading specialists in eyelid, orbital, and lacrimal surgery. Prof. Lackner chairs it — and the commission roster reads like a map of the Lid Summit faculty itself, including Prof. Andreas Kuchar, PD Dr. Angelika Klein-Theyer, and Prim. Univ. Doz. Dr. Martin Emesz as commission secretary.
This is not coincidental. The Lid Summit draws on the same network of specialists who define oculoplastic standards in Austria, which is precisely why its faculty carries the credibility it does.
Why Prof. Lackner Belongs at the Lid Summit
Hands-on eyelid surgery training requires faculty who can teach more than technique. Participants need to understand why a particular flap is chosen, where the margins must run in tumour surgery, and what happens to tear drainage when the lower lid is repositioned.
Prof. Lackner brings exactly this depth: a career built on periorbital tumour surgery and lacrimal reconstruction, an academic record in both, and the national perspective of someone responsible for the subspecialty's standards. Her contribution grounds the course in the clinical reality that most eyelid surgery is, ultimately, either oncologic or functional — and often both.
Conclusion
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Birgit Lackner represents Austrian oculoplastic surgery at its most authoritative: internationally trained, academically active, clinically experienced, and nationally responsible for the standards of her field.
For Lid Summit participants, her presence means learning from someone who has spent a career at the intersection of eyelid function, tumour surgery, and the lacrimal system — the three problems that account for most of what an eyelid surgeon will actually face.
👉 Learn more about the Lid Summit | Prof. Lackner's practice
Sources & Further Reading
ÖOG — Commission for Oculoplastic Surgery (Orbit and Dacryology)
Lackner, B., Kazerounian, S., Dunavölgyi, R., Kuchar, A. (2015) — BCC Update — Diagnostik und Therapie — Spektrum der Augenheilkunde
Told, R., Reumueller, A., Kreminger, J., Lackner, B., Kuchar, A., Dunavoelgyi, R. — Long-term results after surgical basal cell carcinoma excision in the eyelid region: revisited
Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry — Medical University of Vienna
