EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/474673
EW NEWS & OPINION March 2015 31 phacoemulsification of cataracts, "The Two Hand Pupillary Plane Technique." This technique was taught widely by Dick and later by Bill Maloney as "Three Steps to Phaco." Dick's calm, even-tempered de- meanor proved to be the perfect foil to the often contentious and emo- tional criticisms of phacoemulsifica- tion by many outspoken ophthalmic leaders and members of academia. His approach was to simply state, "Let's take a look at the data." Of course, for a scientific discipline, the data is impossible to refute. That ultimately settled the controversy. Dick mentored a huge number of surgeons with kindness and com- passion and in my case, taught me additionally how to teach surgery. We will all miss Dick Kratz, a friend and a hero to so many. –I. Howard Fine, MD Dick Kratz was a hero for me. His calm demeanor and straightforward podium presentations reflected the inner conviction regarding the subject matter to be discussed. I knew that I could trust what Dick had to say. It's hard to remember back that far, but we used to suture incisions after cataract surgery. Dick was so analytical about how to achieve emmetropia and measured his outcomes to show his excellent results. He was so helpful to many ophthalmologists in sharing his surgical technique of 2-handed phacoemulsification. Bill Maloney helped promulgate the technique that made phaco reproducible with better outcomes for so many of us. But it was Dick's gift to cataract surgery to popularize phaco above and beyond Charlie Kelman's pio- neering procedure. One other giant contribution was Dick successfully recruiting the actor Robert Young to testify before the U.S. Congress at hearings conducted with the intent to shut down lens implantation in the entire country. Mr. Young portrayed the role of Marcus Welby, MD, a very popular TV show more than 40 years ago. Although not a real physician, Dr. Welby saved us all. We will be always indebted to Dick for taking such good medical for much innovation in ophthalmic surgery. It was always a pleasure to be invited to his hotel room at the ASCRS meetings for snacks and a glass of wine. The information gained at these small gatherings was often invaluable. Dick was always curious. Just before the FDA approval of the Crystalens (Bausch + Lomb, Bridge- water, N.J.), he asked if he could see some postoperative patients. Dick, Peter McDonald, and I drove down to the Mexican border where we had a long walk through the chaos of the Tijuana border crossing, through passport control and customs, to visit Arturo Chayet's practice. It was a joy to see the enthu- siasm and kindness he displayed when examining the patients there, so long after his retirement. I visited him in the retirement community in Fullerton where he spent his later years, and spoke to him just 2 weeks before he left us. He was happy there, and was driving his car almost to the end, to attend all of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute Steering Committee meetings, where he made many valuable contribu- tions. His interest in surgical innova- tion never left him. He continued asking pertinent questions in his kind, cheerful manner to the very end. We have all lost a very dear friend. –Stuart Cumming, MD In addition to everything else he accomplished, Richard Kratz, MD, was the ultimate gentleman and the prime physician role model. Dick played an active role in the hearings, prompted by Ralph Nader's consum- er research group, to try to disallow Medicare payments for IOLs at the time of cataract surgery. Dick was the surgeon who had operated on the principal witness in favor of IOLs, actor Robert Young, who was the beloved TV personality Marcus Welby, MD. Robert Young testified that cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants saved his career. Dick developed what became the standard surgical approach for After his retirement from the practice of medicine Dr. Kratz was active at the University of Califor- nia, Irvine in the Department of Ophthalmology Steering Committee and on the Beckman Laser Institute's Board of Directors. With us, "The Three Amigos," he attended meetings of the ASCRS, American Academy of Ophthalmol- ogy (AAO), American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, and other or- ganizations every year. Dr. Mazzocco worked with Dr. Kratz in practice, beginning in 1973, while Dr. Honan was a longtime friend. We three shared many discussions, memories, and debates during our time spent together. The genuine sincerity and graciousness of Dr. Kratz extended to and was felt by every person with whom he had contact. He engen- dered instant friendship with each new person he met. His deeply en- grained sense of integrity and hones- ty were paramount and pervaded his every thought and behavior. Contact information Honan: paulh@paulhonanmd.com Mazzocco: trmmd@msn.com Remembrances of Richard "Dick" P. Kratz, MD Soon after meeting Dick Kratz, you realized that you had met a quiet, dignified gentleman, with obvious integrity. Like many physicians, he came from a medical family. During his latter years, Dick had a large practice in Orange County. He never adver- tised or promoted himself, and was always happy to help colleagues with advice or by consultation. His compassionate and kind manner was very reassuring to our patients. In the early days of phacoemul- sification he taught many of us how to overcome the difficulties we all encountered with the early ma- chines. He was a meticulous surgeon and loved to teach in his quiet, respectful way, without ever embar- rassing his students. He was always thinking of a better way to do the procedure, and to improve and develop new instruments, and was responsible care of Mr. Young, and having the fortitude to ask him for desperately needed help. Mr. Young testified that his career would have been over without lens implants. Personally, I enjoyed special time with Dick. For a number of years, he and I would wander the exhibit halls at the AAO annual meeting and look at "What's new?" We would stop at essentially every booth and take away something new to share with attendees at our course "What's new?" held toward the end of the meeting. One of our regular attendees was Bobby Osher. I've forgotten why we quit, but we did. However, Dick was still attending the AAO and ASCRS meetings with an open mind to new ideas, even after being long retired. He would travel around with Paul Honan and Tom Mazzocco, always looking for the future. Those are the things I recall about Dick. He was a great inspiration for me. He always had a sunny disposition and a confident smile on his face for everyone he would meet. I'll miss seeing him in San Diego this year. –John D. Hunkeler, MD Not unlike the magnificent great sequoias, another graceful and splendid California giant has fallen. Richard "Dick" Kratz succumbed recently in his 95th year. Dick had an immeasurable impact on those of us who practice cataract and lens implant surgery. He was among a handful of the earliest adopters of phacoemulsification. He was then able to systematize the procedure to make it more manageable for surgeons than originally described by Kelman. Dick, along with anoth- er pioneer Bob Sinskey, organized regular teaching courses that were established to share his experience with other surgeons so that phaco could and did become the primary method for cataract extraction. He originated the "two-hand" tech- nique that became the basis for the "Three Steps to Phaco" program that helped so many of us transition to small incision surgery. continued on page 32