Charles Schepens
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2008-02-26T07:53:26Z
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[[Image:Human eye cross-sectional view grayscale.png|thumb|300px|Human [[eye]] cross-sectional view. Courtesy [[National Institutes of Health|NIH]] [[National Eye Institute]].]]
'''Charles L. Schepens''' ([[March 13]], [[1912]] - [[March 28]], [[2006]]) was an influential [[United States|American]] [[ophthalmologist]], regarded by many in the profession as "the father of modern [[retina]]l surgery"<ref name="TRS">The Retina Society. [http://www.retinasociety.org/2000.pdf 33rd Annual Meeting.] Coral Gables, Florida. November 30 - December 3, 2000.</ref><ref name="AAO">American Academy of Ophthalmology. [http://www.aao.org/member/awards/laureate/schepens.cfm?RenderForPrint=1& 2003 Laureate Award].</ref><!-- check format of these references -->, and member of the [[French Resistance]].
==Early life: medical training and member of the French Resistance==
Schepens was born in [[Mouscron]], [[Belgium]] in [[1912]];<ref name="TRS"/> his father was a [[physician]] [http://www.theschepens.org/documents/charlesschepens.pdf]. He initially studied mathematics before graduating from [[medical school]] in [[1935]] at [[State University of Ghent]] in Belgium.<ref name="TRS"/><ref name="AAO"/> Schepens then trained in ophthalmology at [[Moorfields Eye Hospital]] in [[London]], [[England]] prior to [[World War II]].<ref name="TRS"/><ref name="AAO"/> After the Germans invaded Belgium in [[1940]], he became a medical officer in the [[Belgian Air Force]]<ref name="AAO"/><!-- The Boston Globe article indicates that he had joined the military medical core prior to the German invasion http://www.theschepens.org/documents/charlesschepens.pdf -->
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.<ref name="AAO"/> Schepens was twice captured by the [[Gestapo]].<ref name="AAO"/> He worked under the alias of Jacques Perot<!-- italics or quotes? -->, a lumber mill operator in the French Basque village of [[Mendive]].<ref name="IE">[http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=178420320&p=y784zyxz6&n=178421080 "War-hero eye surgeon dies at 94".] ''IrishExaminer.com.'' 6 April, 2006.</ref> Aware that the Germans had learned of the operation, he escaped to England.<ref name="IE"/>
==Ophthalmologist, retinal specialist, and inventor==
After the war, Schepens resumed his medical career at Moorfields.<ref name="AAO"/> In [[1947]], he emigrated to the United States and became a fellow at the [[Harvard Medical School]].<ref name="AAO"/> Schepens is credited for creating the [[Vitreous humour|vitreo]]-retinal subspecialty in ophthalmology.<ref name="TRS"/> In [[1949]], he established the world's first retina service and first retinal disease fellowship at the [[Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary]].<ref name="TRS"/><ref name="AAO"/> He founded a research laboratory for the investigation of retinal disease called the Retina Foundation in [[1950]], which is now known as the Schepens Eye Research Institute [http://www.schepens.harvard.edu] and affiliated with [[Harvard Medical School|Harvard]]<ref name ="AAO"/> and the Massachusetts General Hospital.It has grown from 6 staff initially to 200 as of 2006.<ref name="NEOS">New England Ophthalmological Society. [http://www.neos-eyes.org/Schepens.html "Charles L. Schepens, M.D."] Adapted from NEOS biography by Hal M. Freeman.</ref> In [[1967]], Schepens founded The Retina Society and was its first president from 1968 to 1969<ref name="TRS"/> and is the largest independent eye research organisation in the United States.
Schepens invented the [[ophthalmoscope|binocular indirect ophthalmoscope]] (BIO), which is routinely used to look at the retina;.his original BIO is now part of the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s collection.<ref name="TRS"/> (It has been reported that Schepens assembled the prototype for his BIO from metal scraps collected from the streets of London during the German [[The Blitz|blitz]][http://historywired.si.edu/object.cfm?ID=10].) He was also a pioneer of surgical techniques such as [[scleral buckle|scleral buckling]] for the repair of [[retinal detachment]]s. The use of these techniques has raised the success of retinal reattachment surgery from 40% to 90%.<ref name="AAO"/> During his career, Schepens wrote four books and over 340 research papers.<ref name="AAO"/>
==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.<ref name="AAO"/> The [[American Academy of Ophthalmology]] named him as one of their inaugural laureates in 2003 as recognition for his contribution to the field.<ref name="AAO"/> 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.<ref name="IE"/>
His life's story has been told in Meg Ostrum's 2004 book, ''"The Surgeon and the Shepherd: Two Resistance Heroes in Vichy France"''[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0803235739/]. In [[2006]], Schepens died of a stroke at the age of 94.<ref name="IE"/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*Joseph P. Kahn. [http://www.theschepens.org/documents/charlesschepens.pdf "The escape artist: For this war hero, discretion was the better part of valor."] ''Boston Globe''. April 15, 2004.
*[http://www.schepens.org/ Schepens Eye Research Institute]
*[http://www.schepens.com/ Schepens Retina Associates Foundation]
*[http://www.schepensinternationalsociety.com/ Schepens International Society]
*[http://www.nahantlions.org/schepens.html Nahant Lions Club - Charles L. Schepens Award]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schepens, Charles}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths by stroke]]
[[Category:Belgian Americans]]
[[Category:American ophthalmologists]]
[[Category:French Resistance members]]
[[nl:Charles Schepens]]