EyeWorld Asia-Pacific June 2015 Issue

72 EWAP NEWS & OPINION June 2015 were. Norman engineered Richard Kratz, MD, to send his bilateral IOL patient actor Robert Young (“Dr. Marcus Welby”) to testify as to how the IOLs literally saved his career. That did it. President Gerald Ford signed the Medical Device Act with a provision that while IOLs were being put under phase 1 clinical studies, they would still be available to all U.S. surgeons. That is how all IOL surgeons became investigators for the FDA. Interestingly the first IOL to be approved was the Choyce Mark VIII anterior chamber lens. On a humorous note, when I suggested we establish the Binkhorst Medal Lecture, Norman was totally opposed at the beginning but finally relented. After it was awarded to Cornelius Binkhorst, MD, and Jan Worst, MD, the first American to be elected to receive it was Norman Jaffe. When he received it, he stated, “This is the proudest moment in my medical career.” I had the greatest respect for this unique man, and I know that without him, things would not have turned out as they have. What a privilege to have worked so closely with him. Rest in great peace, my friend. To George O. Waring III, MD by Eric Donnenfeld, MD L arger than life, America’s greatest refractive surgeon, friend, and mentor. That is how I will always remember George O. Waring III, MD . By now, the academic triumphs have been listed and the well-deserved accolades recalled, but the legend cannot be contained or limited by an extensive list of his accomplishments. George died 27 January following a stroke at the age of 73. If there was ever a person that I thought would live forever, it was George. He had the unbridled energy, enthusiasm, and love of life few people have the opportunity to experience—and as he aged he only got better. The simple act of spending time with him was an adventure. The adventure might be academic, athletic, or social, but most often it was all three—and it was not for the faint of heart. He might propose a new refractive theory that could revolutionize our field, then head off for a day of heli-skiing virgin powder, and complete the day with an evening (and early morning) of jazz. He knew how to live; he made an enormous difference; and his enthusiasm was infectious. Born in Buffalo, NY, on 21 February 1941, George received his medical degree from Baylor Medical College, Houston. His ophthalmology training included a residency followed by a Heed Fellowship in corneal disease and surgery at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. The PERK study, which he chaired, was the first prospective, well-run clinical study of radial keratotomy. This study set the standard for future refractive studies. He presented the data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that led to the first FDA-approved clinical excimer laser vision correction surgery in the U.S. As the principal investigator of the Emory- sponsored investigations of LASIK, he received the first physician- sponsored Investigational Device Exemption for excimer laser refractive surgery from the U.S. FDA. Dr. Waring was editor-in- chief from 1989 to 2010 of the Journal of Refractive Surgery, and served on more than 20 other editorial boards. He published more than 270 original peer-reviewed articles and 70 book chapters. His authoritative 1,300-page textbooks Refractive Keratotomy for Myopia and Astigmatism and Corneal Disorders: Diagnosis and Management (with Howard Leibowitz, MD) are classics in our field. The Waring Medal for editorial excellence is awarded annually by the associate editors of the Journal of Refractive Surgery to an author publishing an outstanding paper in the previous year. George was an avid alpine snow skier, including frequent heli-skiing in the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia. He kayaked the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, the Zambezi River below Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and the Sun Kosi River in the Everest region of Nepal. He climbed in the Mont Blanc region of France, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, climbed the Matterhorn in Switzerland and Aconcagua in Argentina, and made a first-ascent of Kang Yaja (19,925 ft.) in the remote Dolpo region of the Nepali Himalaya. He was also a Divemaster in the Professional Association of Dive Instructors, diving extensively in the Red Sea, in Papua New Guinea, and with the great white sharks in South Africa. He was elected as a fellow in the Explorer’s Club in New York in March 2001. My first encounter with George was during my fellowship in cornea at Wills Eye Hospital with Peter Laibson, MD —the same fellowship George had completed more than a decade earlier. I recall reading his articles and then finding a chart with his name attached to it. Dr. Laibson would see his name, take me aside and tell me what an extraordinary person George Waring was and what a superb fellow he had been. George set the bar that I would always strive to obtain. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the first major meeting to help revive the city was the New Orleans Academy of Ophthalmology, chaired by Marguerite McDonald, MD. A group of ophthalmologists headed down to New Orleans with George as ringleader, determined to provide a superb conference and make certain New Orleans nightlife was restored to its proper level of excess. Following the World Ophthalmology Conference a few years ago, several American lecturers headed down to Rio de Janeiro for Carnival. We were all sitting with the best view of the parade but George could not be found until we saw him walking triumphantly in full costume right in the middle of the procession. Past president of ASCRS Jack Dodick, MD, recalled the academic accomplishments but will remember him through the “many hours together discussing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” R. Doyle Stulting, MD, another past president of ASCRS, worked with George for more than 30 years. He recalls George as a mentor, colleague, partner, and friend. “George lived a life of superlatives. He was a unique individual who played a pivotal role in my academic success. He touched many of our lives, leading and encouraging us to excel in our academic and non-academic lives by his example—an example I will never be able to equal. I only regret that I did not tell him one more time how much he meant to me.” George took refractive surgery from a shadowy peripheral area of ophthalmology to a respected and scholarly area of study. George was an original in almost every way imaginable. His legacy is extraordinary, and he will be missed. EWAP Contact information Donnenfeld: ericdonnenfeld@gmail.com Hoffer: KHofferMD@aol.com Honan: paulh@paulhonanmd.com Mazzocco: trmmd@msn.com Paying - from page 71