1. Early life: medical training and member of the French Resistance

2. Ophthalmologist, retinal specialist, and inventor

3. Awards and recognition

4. References

5. External links

Charles Louis Schepens (March 13, 1912 – March 28, 2006)^[1] was an influential Belgian (later American) ophthalmologist, regarded by many in the profession as "the father of modern retinal surgery",^[2][3] and member of the French Resistance.

Early life: medical training and member of the French Resistance

Schepens was born in Mouscron, Belgium, in 1912;^[2] his father was a physician.^[4] He initially studied mathematics before graduating from medical school in 1935 at State University of Ghent in Belgium.^[2][3] Schepens then trained in ophthalmology at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, England prior to World War II.^[2][3] After the Germans invaded Belgium in 1940, he became a medical officer in the Belgian Air Force^[3]

After the fall of Belgium, Schepens escaped to France where he became active in the French Resistance smuggling documents and people over the Pyrenees to Spain during 1942 and 1943.^[3] Schepens was twice captured by the Gestapo.^[3] He worked under the alias of Jacques Perot, a lumber mill operator in the French Basque village of Mendive.^[5] Aware that the Germans had learned of the operation, he escaped to England.^[5]

Ophthalmologist, retinal specialist, and inventor

After the war, Schepens resumed his medical career at Moorfields.^[3] In 1947, he immigrated to the United States and became a fellow at the Harvard Medical School.^[3] Schepens is credited for creating the vitreo-retinal subspecialty in ophthalmology.^[2] In 1949, he established the world's first retina service and first retinal disease fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.^[2][3] He founded a research laboratory for the investigation of retinal disease, the Retina Foundation, in 1950. Now known as the Schepens Eye Research Institute, it is affiliated with Harvard^[3] and the Massachusetts General Hospital. It has grown from 6 staff initially to 200 as of 2006,^[6] and at that time was the largest independent eye research organization in the United States. In 2011, the institute combined with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.^[7]

In 1967, Schepens founded The Retina Society and was its first president from 1968 to 1969.^[2]

Schepens invented the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope (BIO), which is routinely used to look at the retina. His original BIO is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.^[2] It has been reported that Schepens assembled the prototype for his BIO from metal scraps collected from the streets of London during the German blitz.^[8] He was also a pioneer of surgical techniques such as scleral buckling for the repair of retinal detachments. The use of these techniques has raised the success of retinal reattachment surgery from 40% to 90%.^[3] During his career, Schepens wrote four books and over 340 research papers.^[3]

Awards and recognition

In 1999, Schepens was chosen by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery as one of the ten most influential ophthalmologists of the century.^[3] The American Academy of Ophthalmology named him as one of their inaugural laureates in 2003 as recognition for his contribution to the field.^[3] In 2006, his earlier heroics were also rewarded when the consul general of France presented him the French Legion of Honour award for smuggling over 100 people from France into Spain.^[5]

His life's story has been told in Meg Ostrum's 2004 book, "The Surgeon and the Shepherd: Two Resistance Heroes in Vichy France".^[9] In 2006, Schepens died of a stroke at the age of 94.^[5]

In 2013, a biographical profile of Dr. Schepens was included in a bestselling book called Saving Sight: An eye surgeon's look at life behind the mask and the heroes who changed the way we see, by Andrew Lam (author), M.D.^[10]

References

External links

• Joseph P. Kahn. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050131045856/http://www.theschepens.org/documents/charlesschepens.pdf |date=January 31, 2005 |title="The escape artist: For this war hero, discretion was the better part of valor." }} Boston Globe. April 15, 2004.
• Schepens Eye Research Institute
• [https://web.archive.org/web/19961223192230/http://www.schepens.com/ Schepens Retina Associates Foundation]
• Schepens International Society
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206123652/http://www.nahantlions.org/schepens.html |date=February 6, 2007 |title=Nahant Lions Club – Charles L. Schepens Award }}

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