Sir Harold Ridley and His Fight For Sight: He Changed the World So That We May Better See It
David J. Apple,
MD
Product Description
Did you know that the most common surgical eye procedure today was influenced by a tragic injury to a WWII pilot?
Did you know that one of the first medical devices to ever be implanted into a human was performed by an ophthalmologist?
Do you know the riveting story behind the man who envisioned and achieved ground-breaking medical advancements for vision care?
An innovator in eye surgery and undisputed inventor of the intraocular lens (IOL), Sir Harold Ridley achieved some of the most important discoveries in ophthalmology and medicine over the last 100 years.
The compelling story of Sir Harold Ridley is one not widely known among today’s medical community. It is a story of an unassuming medical leader. It is a story that needs to be told, not only for its historical value, but also to provide guidance for future generations on bringing new inventions to the world.
In the early 1980’s, Dr. David J. Apple, one of the most prominent American ophthalmologists and eye researchers conducted studies that by the mid-1980’s had verified that Ridley’s innovation—the implantation of the IOL—was potentially safe and effective. Upon hearing of these studies, Ridley requested to meet Dr. Apple at Ridley’s home in England, where a life-long personal and professional relationship was born.
Inside Sir Harold Ridley and His Fight for Sight: He Changed the World So That We May Better See It, Dr. David J. Apple chronicles the amazing career and life of Sir Harold Ridley based on their friendship and on never before published documents, photographs, and memorabilia. Ridley’s tremendous impact on ophthalmology and specifically on the treatment of cataract patients, is a story that until now has not been told.
Sir Harold Ridley and His Fight for Sight is based on 26 years of research performed by Dr. Apple. Interviews with friends, families, colleagues, as well as the review of medical and hospital records, military records, and museum exhibits have brought the story of Sir Harold Ridley to forefront of the medical community today.
Dr. Apple brings life and credibility to the pages of Sir Harold Ridley and His Fight for Sight with over 600 images, testimonials from Sir Harold Ridley on his quest that began in 1935, and a personal touch that only a true colleague and friend can convey.
From Harold Ridley, 1989:
"I had twenty-five years in the wilderness and would have been spared much suffering if David Apple, the one who at last took the trouble to read and analyze all the early implant papers, had appeared in the 1950’s, for a whole generation of cataract patients might then have enjoyed full visual rehabilitation instead of suffering the abnormalities of aphakia."
In 1940 during World War II, in the legendary Battle of Britain, a British pilot was tragically blinded when shattered fragments of his cockpit canopy were embedded in his eyes. This tragic event led to the identification of an implant material and eventuated in Ridley’s accomplishing a complete cure for cataracts. Ridley focused the next decade of his life on the development of an artificial lens to be implanted following the removal of a cataract. This device has restored vision to nearly 200 million people worldwide, and presently 9 million annually.
After performing the first IOL implant on a cataract patient, Sir Harold Ridley was met with opposition from the medical community. It took three decades of struggle until his goal became reality. Now the cataract surgery, and its cousin, refractive surgery, including the procedure LASIK, are the most common surgical procedures performed today.
Paving the way for past, current and future ophthalmologists, Sir Harold Ridley not only implanted the first medical device into a patient—he pioneered multiple once in a lifetime discoveries including innovations on river blindness, techniques for optic nerve and retina diagnosis, introduction of television and other electronic techniques to ophthalmology, as well as establishing a branch of biomedical engineering focusing on the science of artificial implants.
Sir Harold Ridley and His Fight for Sight is the story of a brilliant man and his lifelong struggle to gain acceptance for his invention from his peers. He finally achieved this late in life and the intraocular lens is now recognized as one of the most important medical advances of the 20th century.
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Contents
- DedicationviiAcknowledgmentsxiiiAbout the AuthorxvForeword by Jim MazzoxviForeword by I. Howard Fine, MDxviiForeword by Emanuel Rosen, Bsc, MD, FRCSE, FRCOphth, FRPSxviiiForeword by Christopher MorganxxPrefacexxi
Chronology of Sir Harold Ridley
xxix
Chapter 1: The Secret Code: The
"Extra-Capsular Ext."
2London. November 29, 19492 A Gift to the World 6 Why Did It Take So Long? 10
Chapter 2: From Darkness to Light
14 Eye Surgery in the Dark Ages; Perforation of the Eye With a Needle 16 The “Black Hole” 17 From Darkness to Light 19 Cataract—The Most Common Cause of Visual Loss 21 Cataracts May Cause Morbidity in Addition to Simple Vision Loss 24 Colors and the Cataracts of Claude Monet 25
Chapter 3: Roots of a Modest Giant of Science
30 The Ridleys: 1555 32 The Parkers: “Do It and It’s Done.” 34 The World Harold Was Born Into 35 The Early Years 39 School Days and Medical Training 43
Chapter 4: “David, Mr. Ridley Wants to Meet You”
52 July 1980 to May 1989: Arrival to a New Job 52 Summer, 1985: A Summons to Visit Mr. Ridley 58 From the Old Country to America’s Heartland, My Ancestors, Origins, Childhood, and Medical Training (1941-1985) 61 History and Heroes 63 Entering the Field of Medicine—The Eyes Have It 65 Charleston and the Apple Korps 67 Triumphs and Tragedies: 1989-Present 72 Summary 73
Chapter 5: River Walks
78 The Quest for a Complete Cataract Operation 79 Clinical Diagnosis of Cataract 80 Three Surgical Methods to Remove a Cataract 91
Chapter 6: Adlertag: The Quest for a Complete Cataract Operation, Step 2: Visual Rehabilitation with the IOL
98 Casanova, Quacks, Progressives, and Prophets 102 The “Airplane Story” Unfolds: “A Story Too Good to Be True” 104 The Setting: Royal Air Force Tangmere and Surrounding Hospitals 106 The Players 109 “Mouse” Cleaver and the Pilots of the 601 Squadron 111 Fury Across Europe 116 Adlertag: “You Will Wipe the British Air Force From the Sky” 118 Coming Full Circle: One Piece of Plastic Is Replaced with Another 120 What Was Flight Lieutenant Cleaver’s Precise Role in the Development of the IOL? 122 The Invention of the IOL: The Actual Sequence of Events, ca 1935 to 1951 123 Epilogue: It’s Plastic! 125
Chapter 7: A Simple Question, Mobilization
128 The Pilot 130 The Student 130 The Optician and the Chemist: The Cure of Cataract 133 The Surgeon 138
Chapter 8: The Operation: November 29, 1949
140 The “Brave Londoners” 142 A Lingering Question 147
Chapter 9: Rapid Descent Into a Period of Doldrums
150 A Mistake Leads to an Early Unveiling 151 A Prophet in His Own Country 152 Harold’s First Rebuff 154 Sir Stewart Duke-Elder 155 D.E. 160 A Fast Downhill Slope 161 “Put Out to Pasture” 162 Chicago 163 A Rejection From a Colleague in Ocular Pathology 164 A Different Outcome? 165
Chapter 10: A Gradual Ascent to a New Revolution in Surgical Eye Care
166 “Who Would Support Me Before Peter Choyce?” 168 Other Supporters and Pioneers 171 The Philadelphia Story 172 Munich, 1966 173 Paris, 1974 174 “America’s Doctor” Prescribes the IOL to the FDA 175 Unstoppable Forward Movement 177
Chapter 11: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Evolution of IOLs, Ups and Downs
180 IOL Design: Haptics and Loops: Solving the Problem of Decentration 184 Material Problems 187 Secondary Cataracts (Posterior Capsular Opacification) 188 Infections (Endophthalmitis) 190 Evolutionary Excellence 191
Chapter 12: Let’s Get Rid of Our Glasses
192 Corneal Refractive Surgery 196 Intraocular Lens Refractive Surgery 198 Svyatoslav Fyodorov 200 Phakic Intraocular Lenses 200 Bifocal and Multifocal Intraocular Lenses 201 The Start of Something Big 202
Chapter 13: Innovations in Addition to the Intraocular Lens
204 Tropical Ophthalmology: Onchocerciasis (River Blindness) and Cataract-IOL Surgery in the Developing World 205 Shipped Out 209 Attacking River Blindness 209 Applying Laboratory Technology to Cataract-IOL Surgery in the Developing World 212 Bringing Light to the Underprivileged World: Introducing the Modern Cataract-IOL Operation 215 Ridley Establishes a Foundation 217
Chapter 14: Released Prisoners of War in Thailand and Burma
220 Nutritional Amblyopia: Involvement of the Optic Nerve and Macula 221
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Chapter 15: Technical Applications from World War II
228 Televising Eye Operations 230 Noninvasive Diagnosis of the Retina and Optic Nerve 231
Chapter 16: Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Organ Transplantation
239
Chapter 17: Honors, Many Received “Long After I Should Have Been Gone”
244 A Book Signed by Grateful Surgeons 246 Election to the Royal Society 246 An Honorary Doctor’s Degree 248 Celebrating the Intraocular Lens’ 50th Anniversary at the Royal Albert Science Museum 249 Election to Ophthalmology Hall of Fame 251 A Long and Illustrious List 251
Chapter 18: Knighthood and the End
252 “What Was a Miracle Yesterday Remains a Miracle Today and Forever” 253 Success at Last 255 Confronting Old Age 256 The End of a Long and Fruitful Journey 258 The Farewell 258 Words of Respect 259 A Fitting Place for a Memorial Service 260
Chapter 19: A Service of Thanksgiving and Redemption on Battle of Britain Sunday, September 18, 2005
262
Appendices Glossary 271 Map of England 281 Map of London 283 Landmark Articles 285 The Ridley Foundation 289 Publications: Sir Harold Ridley, MD, Cantab, FRCS, Eng. FRS 291 Sir Harold Ridley: Memberships, Presentations, and Honors 297 David J. Apple, IOL-Related Articles, Early Phase (1984-1986). 299 Articles, Editorials, and Obituaries written by David J. Apple about Sir Harold Ridley 303 List 1: Visual Acuity Measurements 305 List 2: World Health Organization Classification of Visual Impairment (Simplified) 307 Photo Credit List 309 Index 311
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Reviews
"There is a place for Ridley’s Story on the history shelf of any library and in the collection of ophthalmologists everywhere."
— Suzanne M. Schultz, MA, Doody’s Book Review
"…the book pays rightful homage to the man who changed cataract surgery forever. But the book is much more than a biography. Throughout his book, Apple devotes many words to the history and future of ophthalmology, a history that shaped Ridley's vision and a future that he helped to create."
— From Eurotimes, London, 2006, Paul McGinn
"This revolutionary advance in medicine is the result of the determination of the late Sir Harold Ridley. His resolution has already saved the sight of over 200 million people worldwide, a figure that increases annually by nine million."
— From The Times Newspapers Limited, 22 September 2006, Dr. Thomas Stufford
"Now, 57 years after his significant medical breakthrough, his achievements have been commemorated by noted ophthalmologist, Dr. David J. Apple."
— From History Today, September 20, 2006, Charlie Cottrell
"Dr. Apple shares with us 22 years of in-depth research and 7 years of writing and editing. This has resulted in a book that can only be considered a masterpiece. In 19 tightly written chapters, with extraordinary historical illustrations we are told the fascinating story of Sir Harold Ridley's development of the first IOL implant. I found this book a very entertaining and compelling read. There is no doubt that this is a must-read for the ophthalmologist who performs cataract surgery and lens implantation. David J. Apple, MD has compiled history in a way that will educate and entertain readers for many generations to come."
— Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, OSN Chief Medical Editor, Minneapolis, MN, Ocular Surgery News, November 1, 2006
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About the Author
David J. Apple, MD is the Director of the David J. Apple, MD Laboratories for Ophthalmic Devices Research, Moran Eye Center, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. A noted international lecturer, Dr. Apple is recognized for his contributions to research on intraocular lenses. In addition to writing 23 books, 71 book chapters, and 529 original articles, he has made over 1400 scientific presentations worldwide. He and his wife Ann currently reside in both Salt Lake City, UT and Sullivan’s Island, SC.
Dr. Apple can be reached through SLACK Incorporated, Health Care Books and Journals, 6900 Grove Road, Thorofare, NJ 08086.
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