Charles Schepens

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

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Early life: medical training and member of the French Resistance

Schepens was born in Mouscron, Belgium in 1912;^[1] his father was a physician [1]. He initially studied mathematics before graduating from medical school in 1935 at State University of Ghent in Belgium.^[1][2] Schepens then trained in ophthalmology at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, England prior to World War II.^[1][2] After the Germans invaded Belgium in 1940, he became a medical officer in the Belgian Air Force^[2]

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.^[2] Schepens was twice captured by the Gestapo.^[2] He worked under the alias of Jacques Perot, a lumber mill operator in the French Basque village of Mendive.^[3] Aware that the Germans had learned of the operation, he escaped to England.^[3]

Ophthalmologist, retinal specialist, and inventor

After the war, Schepens resumed his medical career at Moorfields.^[2] In 1947, he emigrated to the United States and became a fellow at the Harvard Medical School.^[2] Schepens is credited for creating the vitreo-retinal subspecialty in ophthalmology.^[1] In 1949, he established the world's first retina service and first retinal disease fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.^[1][2] 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 [2] and affiliated with Harvard^[2] and the Massachusetts General Hospital.It has grown from 6 staff initially to 200 as of 2006.^[4] In 1967, Schepens founded The Retina Society and was its first president from 1968 to 1969^[1] and is the largest independent eye research organisation in the United States.

Schepens invented the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope (BIO), which is routinely used to look at the retina;.his original BIO is now part of the Smithsonian Institute's collection.^[1] (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[3].) 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%.^[2] During his career, Schepens wrote four books and over 340 research papers.^[2]

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.^[2] The American Academy of Ophthalmology named him as one of their inaugural laureates in 2003 as recognition for his contribution to the field.^[2] 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.^[3]

His life's story has been told in Meg Ostrum's 2004 book, "The Surgeon and the Shepherd: Two Resistance Heroes in Vichy France"[4]. In 2006, Schepens died of a stroke at the age of 94.^[3]

References