EW
SHOW DAILY
43
A
leader in corneal
transplantation and
the founder of corneal
collagen crosslinking will
be inducted into
the
Ophthalmology Hall of Fame
at today's ASCRS Opening General
Session.
Vladimir P. Filatov, MD, was a
great contributor not only to the
field of corneal transplantation and
eye banking but also to plastic and
reconstructive surgery as well as
medical eyecare delivery. He began
studying
keratoplasty in 1922 with
his mentor, Arthur Elschnig of
Prague, and over the next 23 years
performed more than 800 corneal
grafts. From his vast experience,
he described many of the major
technical challenges and complica-
tions associated with corneal
transplantation. In the course of
his clinically innovative practice, he
designed a number of instruments
and innovations that greatly con-
tributed to the progress of kerato-
plasty. He was notably the first to
popularize the use of cadaveric
preserved corneal tissue for trans-
plantation, and in May of 1931 was
the first to perform full-thickness
corneal transplants using cadaveric
tissue successfully.
Dr. Filatov was a prolific investi-
gator beyond the domain of corneal
transplantation and undertook
significant research in other areas of
ophthalmology. He wrote papers on
pediatric trauma, was the first to use
the Gonin method of retinal reat-
tachment repair in the Soviet Union,
did research in keratoconjunctivitis
sicca, and developed a systematic
theory of "biogenic stimulators"
(tissue therapy) for inflammatory
and degenerative conditions.
Dr. Filatov was the founding
editor of Oftalmologicheskii Zhurnal
in 1946, which he edited until his
death in 1956. He established the
Ukrainian Experimental Institute for
Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy,
later renamed the Filatov Institute.
The institution provided a large
ASCRS•ASOA SYMPOSIUM & CONGRESS, BOSTON 2014
2014 Hall of
Fame inductees
continued on page 44
Vladimir P. Filatov, MD Theo Seiler, MD, PhD
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