ASCRS HONOURS INNOVATORS

Bo Philipson and Jack Holladay were warmly welcomed by delegates attending the 2012 ASCRS Congress when they received awards recognising their outstanding achievements. In recognition of his prominent role advancing cataract and refractive surgery in Sweden and Europe, incoming ASCRS president David Chang MD welcomed Bo T Philipson MD, PhD, Stockholm, Sweden, as an Honored Guest . 'Dr Philipson also played a key role in the development of the first OVD as well as heparin-coated IOLs, and the Technis diffractive multifocal IOL,' Dr Chang said. Dr Chang also noted Dr Philipson's service as a leader, founder and programme chair of the ESCRS, his extensive lecturing and surgery in more than 20 countries, his leadership of the Ophthalmology Department at Sweden's prestigious Karolinska Institute and his founding of the Ögonklinik, now Sweden's largest private eye clinic. 'He has educated a generation of Swedish cataract surgeons and led the efforts to adopt phaco emulsification, intraocular lens implantation and corneal refractive surgery in his home country.'

Accepting the honour, Dr Philipson expressed his gratitude for the opportunities he had to improve ocular surgery and those who supported his efforts. 'I am very fortunate to be of the group to have experienced the evolution of cataract and refractive surgery from intracapsular surgery to the modern very advanced surgery. It's been very fascinating. This shift of surgical technique and the improvement of outcome have been made possible by the excellent teaching facilities that ASCRS and ESCRS have provided to us.' Hall of Fame Internationally known for his pioneering work in optics, including brightness acuity tester for assessing the impact of glare on vision and widely used IOL power calculation formulae, Jack T Holladay MD, MSEE, FACS, was inducted into ASCRS' Ophthalmology Hall of Fame. In an emotional address to the opening session of the ASCRS Symposium, Dr Holladay thanked colleagues for their support following high-risk aortic surgery in 2010.

Dr Holladay, who is a member of the EuroTimes International Editorial Board, has contributed immensely to improving the understanding of optics in ophthalmology, including glare testing, interpretation of corneal topography and the nature of astigmatism, said Douglas Koch MD, Houston, US. His IOL consultant power calculation software that takes into account factors such as corneal transplants and refractive surgery have improved vision outcomes for cataract patients around the world. Dr Holladay spoke from the perspective of one who came close to death. His operation to correct an aortic aneurysm involved lowering his body temperature enough for him to survive cutting off blood flow to his brain for about 20 minutes during the procedure, followed by an eightday coma, he said. Though he is still a clinical professor at Baylor College of Medicine, he no longer treats patients. 'After 37 years in ophthalmology I had to retire because I wasn't quite the same after the operation. Looking back, the things I think about are not the patients, not the papers, none of those things, really, it's the teaching,' said Dr Holladay.