Eyeworld

JUN 2015

EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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EW IN OTHER NEWS 90 June 2015 Initially hesitant, he eventually agreed to be interviewed. Over the course of more than 20 interviews, she collected the stories that would later become the book. During the interviews, she asked Dr. Schepens if the war had been a detour from his promising ophthal- mological career. "But he said … and this isn't really in the book, [that] it was the fact that he had pulled off this mission impossible in the Pyrenees—that was what bolstered his confidence." EW But his work was not done there. "He landed in London, and in the basement of Moorfields Hospital, which had been bombed, he created the prototype for the [indirect oph- thalmoscope]," Ms. Ostrum said. Dr. Schepens was reunited with his wife and children, who had their own arduous escape from France, and, after the war, they relocated to Boston. 'The Surgeon and the Shepherd' Something unexpected had hap- pened in Mendive during the resis- tance operation: Dr. Schepens and Mr. Sarochar had struck up a lasting friendship, Ms. Ostrum said. They were two vastly different personalities: Dr. Schepens, a shrewd and highly educated ophthalmolo- gist, and Mr. Sarochar, a teller of tall tales and stoic shepherd. "After the war, [Dr. Schepens] did not see himself as a grand hero. When I was doing the interviewing, that's what became clear," she said. "To him, it was Sarochar who was the hero." Mr. Sarochar risked his life to shepherd people into Spain—and without pay. Through his guiding skills and Dr. Schepens' covert work, at least 100 lives were saved, she said. "What made the story so mov- ing was the relationship between these two men," she said. They remained friends until Mr. Sarochar's death decades later. Finding his story There is also a story behind the telling of Dr. Schepens' story. It is one of coincidences. It started when Ms. Ostrum and a friend were hiking in France in 1983. They happened upon the town of Mendive. They accidentally met a local priest, and when he learned that they lived a few hours from Boston, he told them about a Belgian ophthal- mologist who was a local war hero and now lived there. Because she had a lifetime of experience with ophthalmologists (Ms. Ostrum has keratoconus) and was being seen at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infir- mary, she offered to hand-deliver a letter from the priest to the doctor. Unfortunately, he knew him only as M. Pérot. Back at home, a casual conver- sation with a colleague led her to identify M. Pérot as Dr. Schepens. Her colleague just happened to be his patient. She met Dr. Schepens and delivered the priest's letter to him. Ophthalmologist continued from page 89 Postcard of the Mendive sawmill (1943) Copy of Dr. Schepens' fake ID card Photo of Dr. Schepens with his children taken with his Leica camera during the war Source (all): Meg Ostrum IMPORTANT PRODUCT INFORMATION FOR THE ACRYSOF ® IQ RESTOR ® FAMILY OF IOLs CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this device to the sale by or on the order of a physician. INDICATIONS: The AcrySof ® IQ ReSTOR ® Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lens (IOL) is intended for primary implantation for the visual correction of aphakia second- ary to removal of a cataractous lens in adult patients with and without presby- opia, who desire near, intermediate and distance vision with increased spectacle independence. The lens is intended to be placed in the capsular bag. WARNINGS/PRECAUTIONS: Careful preoperative evaluation and sound clinical judgment should be used by the surgeon to decide the risk/benefit ratio before implanting a lens in a patient with any of the conditions described in the Directions for Use labeling. Physicians should target emmetropia, and ensure that IOL centration is achieved. Care should be taken to remove viscoelastic from the eye at the close of surgery. Some patients may experience visual disturbances and/or discomfort due to multifocality, especially under dim light conditions. As with other multifocal IOLs, visual symptoms may be significant enough that the patient will request explant of the multifocal IOL. Spectacle independence rates vary with all multifocal IOLs; as such, some patients may need glasses when reading small print or looking at small objects. Clinical studies with the AcrySof ® ReSTOR ® lens indicated that posterior capsule opacification (PCO), when present, developed earlier into clinically significant PCO. Prior to surgery, physicians should provide prospective patients with a copy of the Patient Information Brochure available from Alcon for this product informing them of possible risks and benefits associated with the AcrySof ® IQ ReSTOR ® IOLs. Studies have shown that color vision discrimination is not adversely affected in individuals with the AcrySof ® Natural IOL and normal color vision. The effect on vision of the AcrySof ® Natural IOL in subjects with hereditary color vision defects and acquired color vision defects secondary to ocular disease (e.g., glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, chronic uveitis, and other retinal or optic nerve diseases) has not been studied. Do not resterilize; do not store over 45° C; use only sterile irrigating solutions such as BSS ® or BSS PLUS ® Sterile Intraocular Irrigating Solutions. ATTENTION: Reference the Directions for Use labeling for a complete listing of indications, warnings and precautions. © 2015 Novartis 4/15 RES15029JAD-PI About the book "The Surgeon and the Shepherd" (published in 2004 by the University of Nebraska Press) is available online and in bookstores. Ms. Ostrum's book was also published in French, under the title "Le Chirurgien et Le Berger: Deux Héros de la Resistance au Pays Basque" (Editions Aubéron, 2011).

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