EyeWorld Asia-Pacific December 2013 Issue

54 EWAP NEWS & OPINION December 2013 This novel will be published by Bondfire Books in 2014. I developed the plot during my middle-of-the-night shifts in the Wills Emergency Department. With a new baby at home, this was the only time I could find to think in peace. Now I have four kids, but my wife would say that I remain remarkably good at tuning them out when I’m brainstorming on some book idea. Dr. Chang: Although these pioneers and their accomplishments are well known to ophthalmologists, what are some of the most interesting things that you learned through your research that most of us wouldn’t know? Dr. Lam: Many ophthalmologists know the rough outlines of what these men achieved, but aren’t familiar with their full stories. They may know about Ridley’s inspiration for the IOL after seeing inert plexiglass in a fighter pilot’s eyes, but not that the rejection of his peers pushed him into depression and postponed the acceptance of IOLs until long after he had ended his somber career. They may know that Kelman’s invention of phaco was inspired by his dentist’s tool, but not about his preceding years of repeated failures and ever-present desperation to earn the approval of his peers. They may want to learn more about the stuttering, multi- national effort to develop refractive surgery—from Lans’ experiments on rabbits, to Sato’s initial success and ultimate failure with posterior corneal incisions, to Barraquer’s crazy idea to shape frozen corneal buttons with a watchmaker’s lathe, to Fyodorov’s “conveyor belt” RK clinic, to Srinivasan’s first use of the excimer laser on a turkey leg. The heroes in this book never gave up, despite repeated defeats. They endured. It is clear to me that the development of today’s treatments was not inevitable. We are practicing in a golden age of ophthalmology, and we owe much of our capability to these dedicated individuals. Dr. Chang: What is your next book going to be about? Dr. Lam: I’m currently working on a historical novel called Repentance, based on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the segregated Japanese-American unit that fought valiantly in Europe during WWII while many of their families were incarcerated in internment camps at home. It may surprise many that this Nisei regiment became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history. My goal with a book like this is to entertain, but also to educate and shine a light on stories that deserve to be more well known than they currently are. EWAP Contact information Lam : email@AndrewLamMD.com CALENDAR OF MEETINGS 2014 DATE MEETING VENUE February 6-9 72nd Annual Conference of the All India Ophthalmology Society (AIOS) www.aios.org Agra India April 2-6 XXXIV International Congress of Ophthalmology (WOC 29th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) 118th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Ophthalmological Society (JOS) www.woc2014.org Tokyo Japan April 25-29 ASCRS-ASOA Symposium & Congress www.ascrs.org Boston USA July 5-6 2014 Indian Intraocular Implant & Refractive Surgery meeting www.iirsi.com Chenai India July 11-13 29th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (JSCRS) www.jscrs.org Fukuoka Japan September 13-17 XXXII Congress of the European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (ESCRS) www.escrs.org London UK October 18-21 Annual Meeting of American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) www.aao.org Chicago USA November 13-16 27th Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (APACRS) Annual Meeting www.apacrs.org Jaipur India December 11-12 4th Biennial Scientific Meeting of the Asia Cornea Society www.acs2014.tw Taipei Taiwan Saving - from page 52