Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 58 Tuesday, May 10, 2016 In other news by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Staff Writer Three generations of ophthalmologists in 1 family continued on page 60 Family tree under 94-year- old physician filled with half a dozen ocular specialists I t's not entirely unusual for a son to follow in his father's footsteps. Lowell Gess, MD, however, has watched more than just 1 of his children—and grandchildren for that matter—join his profession. Not only did his oldest son, Timothy Gess, MD, become an oph- thalmologist, but another son went into optometry, and 3 grandchildren followed as ophthalmologists as well. If you've lost count, that's 5 ophthalmologists and 1 optometrist in the Gess family. There are also several other family members who work in various roles at the Alexan- dria Eye Clinic, which the elder Gess established in 1975 in Alexandria, Minnesota. "There are times during family get-togethers when we sequester ourselves in a remote corner to discuss what we love best," Dr. Timothy Gess said, laughing. "You can't help but have a lot of [ophthalmology] discussion going on, and the spouses are very kind. They let them go at it," said Dr. Lowell Gess, the 94-year-old patri- arch of 6 children. Deborah Gess Ristvedt, DO, Dr. Timothy Gess' daughter and Dr. Lowell Gess' granddaughter, admitted that clinical pictures have managed to come out at the dinner table. "It's totally happened," she said. But how does 1 family come to have so many of its members in this medical field? To answer that ques- tion, let's go back a few decades. Medical missionaries In his youth, Dr. Lowell Gess felt called to be a medical missionary. After attending seminary to become an ordained pastor, he went to med- ical school and trained as a general surgeon. He and his wife first went to Nigeria in 1952. They returned to the U.S. for a 2-year general surgery residency and then traveled to Sierra Leone. "When I was doing surgery in Sierra Leone, there were blind people all around. It was unreal," Dr. Lowell Gess said. "I wrote a letter to a friend who was an ophthalmol- ogist and invited him to come out and help. All he did was send a set of eye instruments and a little 'how to' book." After practicing on pig and cow eyes, Dr. Lowell Gess said he was successful with his first 3 human patients in Sierra Leone. "That opened the flood gates for this country of 6 million that had no ophthalmologist," he said, noting that now the country has 2 ophthalmologists; 2010 data from the International Council of Oph- thalmology suggests that there are 4 ophthalmologists for a population of about 6.4 million. As for raising his family in West Africa, Dr. Lowell Gess said some criticized him for the decision at the time. "People said, you're not doing right by having your children in Africa. Mrs. Gess homeschooled some and we had some mission schooling also, but 4 of them have doctorates now and 2 of them have several majors, so it didn't hurt them," he said. In fact, it was this upbringing, in part, that Dr. Timothy Gess cred- its with interesting him in ophthal- mology in the first place. "Growing up around a slit lamp, it does make a certain impression on a young person," he said. Generations of ophthalmologists Like his father, Dr. Timothy Gess said that seeing the need for ocular surgeons in this part of the world had him wanting to help. As for his own daughter, Dr. Timothy Gess said he did not strong- ly encourage Dr. Ristvedt toward ophthalmology. She agreed, saying that she, of her own volition, talked about being a doctor as a child. "When I moved back [to Alex- andria] after residency, my mom found this letter I had written when Dr. Lowell Gess started a practice in Alexandria, Minnesota, in 1975. He was later joined by his son, Dr. Timothy Gess, and after his retirement, Dr. Ristvedt joined the family practice.

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