Valentine Group Health
George L. Spaeth, M.D.
Esposito Research Professor
Wills Eye Hospital/Jefferson Medical College
Background:
George L. Spaeth went to Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, and then majored in history at Yale College (Phi Beta Kappa), following which he attended Harvard Medical School (Alpha Omega Alpha). After an internship at the University of Michigan and graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and an ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Hospital, he served for two years in the Public Health Service as a clinical fellow at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness in Bethesda. He was Director of the William and Anna Goldberg Glaucoma Service and Research Laboratories at the Wills Eye Institute/Jefferson Medical College from 1968 to 2007, where he is now the Louis J. Esposito Research Professor.
He has published over 360 articles in peer-reviewed journals, many hundred commentaries in various formats, over 100 book chapters, around 200 editorials, and 18 books, several of which have been translated into other languages, including Chinese. His surgical text is used in many countries around the world and a fourth edition is currently being prepared. He serves on the editorial boards of six journals, and was for many years Editor in Chief of Ophthalmic Surgery.
Fellows he has trained work in 34 countries on six continents, and include the current or past presidents of the American Glaucoma Society, the European Glaucoma Society, the Chinese Glaucoma Society, the Pan-Arab-African Glaucoma Society, the Brazilian Glaucoma Society, the Chilean Glaucoma Society, and the Christian Medical College in Lahore India. His fellows are chairs of departments of ophthalmology in the United States and internationally and directors of many glaucoma services around the world. Dr. Spaeth himself was founding member and the first President of the American Glaucoma Society. He was the founder and is current president of the Glaucoma Service Foundation to Prevent Blindness and served as the chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
As a resident at Wills Eye Hospital, he discovered the disease homocystinuria and published the early work on the condition, including the use of pyridoxine as successful treatment. Since then his research has centered primarily on glaucoma, especially related to quantitative measures of the clinical characteristics, such as the anterior chamber angle, the optic disc and disability caused by glaucoma. Dr. Spaeth enjoys lecturing, and he has presented 30 named lectureships, which give him the opportunity to present his views on the importance of individualizing patient care and helping people celebrate their lives, which he demonstrates in his busy practice.
Dr. Spaeth’s other interests include many years as President of Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility (for which he received the Newberg Peace Award), and the arts. He is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Philadelphia Bach Festival; he writes poetry, composes music, plays the piano, and plays the organ on Squirrel Island, where he has summered since 1944. His flower and vegetable garden won first prize in the City Garden’s contest of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 2004.
Overview:
This show is an overview of the disease of the eye-glaucoma. The guest is a world renowned ophthalmologist who has treated hundreds of thousands of people in US and around the world. HE discusses the incidence and prevalence ( how often it occurs) of this disease which is more common than most people think and can be influenced by family history and age. He reviews the various types of this disease and how it is treated and the role of patients in their own self care as related to both diagnosis and treatment.
He demonstrates how you can check your own vision and predicts that if everyone did this. just like brushing their teeth, we could decrease this disease progression in more than 50% of all cases, thus contributing to lesser blindness overall.
3 Key Points:
- Prevention is key. Check your vision yourself (per his demonstration) and if y ou see changes, go to an eye doctor immediately.
- Glaucoma is the “sneak thief” of vision as it does not alert you by being painful so it can be missed until it is too late and once blindness occurs, it is not reversible with mediation or surgery.
- Know your family history. If someone in your family has had glaucoma, get checked and it can be associated within families.
