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Pediatric ophthalmology bids farewell to one of its founders, Leonard Apt, MD
In Memoriam Pediatric ophthalmology bids farewell to one of its founders, Leonard Apt, MD
Leonard Apt, MD
The field of pediatric ophthalmology has lost a leader of towering professional stature. Leonard Apt, MD, the founder of academic pediatric ophthalmology in the United States, and professor of ophthalmology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), died in Santa Monica at 90 years of the age on February 1, 2013, after an acute cardiac illness. Dr. Apt was born in Philadelphia on June 28, 1922. He entered the University of Pennsylvania at age 14 years, graduating with highest honors. Dr. Apt completed Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1945 then trained in hematology, pediatrics, pathology, and ophthalmology at Harvard and the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Apt was the first fellow in pediatric ophthalmology at the United States National Institutes of Health the first US physician to have attained specialty board certification in both pediatrics and ophthalmology. One of the five founders of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, Dr. Apt was active on the UCLA faculty from 1961 until his death. Leonard Apt is probably best known among physicians worldwide for the Apt test for distinguishing fetal from maternal blood in newborn stool. He developed this test, which remains in widespread use today, while a Harvard pedia-
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trician in the early 1950s. Dr. Apt is also credited with the first descriptions of agammaglobulinemia and mothball anemia, caused by childhood ingestion of naphthalene. He was also among the first to use plastic hardware for blood transfusions. Dr. Apt’s early ophthalmological work involved nematode endophthalmitis and pediatric uveal melanoma. He demonstrated that allergic reactions to ophthalmic catgut sutures could be predicted by a skin test. Leonard Apt was the developer of the waxy coating that first enabled synthetic absorbable sutures smooth enough for ophthalmic use. In collaboration with his student and colleague Sherwin J. Isenberg, MD, Apt spent much of the last three decades studying prevention and treatment of ophthalmic infections. Apt and Isenberg pioneered the use of povidone-iodine for surgical disinfection before ophthalmic surgery, an agent now in widespread use for this purpose worldwide. In large international studies, these collaborators also demonstrated the clinical and costeffectiveness of povidone-iodine for prophylaxis of ophthalmia neonatorum and even for treatment of bacterial and fungal infections of the conjunctiva and cornea. Dr. Apt published over 300 papers in the medical and ophthalmic literature. He received hundreds of prestigious awards, including the American Academy of Pediatrics Lifetime Achievement Award, Distinguished Alumnus Award from Jefferson Medical College, UCLA Alumni Association Award for Excellence, and the UCLA Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award. In his honor, the American Academy of Pediatrics created the biennial “Leonard Apt Lecture.” In 2010 he was selected National Physician of the Year by a vote among all physicians in the United States. Dr. Apt was cofounder and codirector of the UCLA Center to Prevent Childhood Blindness, a preschool vision-screening program. Dr. Apt was generously philanthropic with funds from family trusts, endowing both a professorship and a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology at UCLA. He was a founder of the John Wooden UCLA Athletic Center, a member of the UCLA Coach’s Round Table, and a true UCLA Bruin fan. Dr. Apt supported musical performances at UCLA Royce Hall, the UCLA Hammer Museum of Graphic Arts, and UCLA student scholarships. He was a connoisseur of fine food and wines. He is survived by nephews Kenneth Rappaport and Robert Hersh. He is also survived by thousands of colleagues, students, and friends, and countless millions of patients who benefited greatly from his wisdom, work, and humanism. We shall all miss Leonard Apt. MD.
Sherwin J. Isenberg, MD Joseph L. Demer, MD, PhD Los Angeles, California J. Bronwyn Bateman, MD Denver, Colorado http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaapos.2013.02.001
Journal of AAPOS
Leonard Apt, MD
The field of pediatric ophthalmology has lost a leader of towering professional stature. Leonard Apt, MD, the founder of academic pediatric ophthalmology in the United States, and professor of ophthalmology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), died in Santa Monica at 90 years of the age on February 1, 2013, after an acute cardiac illness. Dr. Apt was born in Philadelphia on June 28, 1922. He entered the University of Pennsylvania at age 14 years, graduating with highest honors. Dr. Apt completed Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1945 then trained in hematology, pediatrics, pathology, and ophthalmology at Harvard and the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Apt was the first fellow in pediatric ophthalmology at the United States National Institutes of Health the first US physician to have attained specialty board certification in both pediatrics and ophthalmology. One of the five founders of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, Dr. Apt was active on the UCLA faculty from 1961 until his death. Leonard Apt is probably best known among physicians worldwide for the Apt test for distinguishing fetal from maternal blood in newborn stool. He developed this test, which remains in widespread use today, while a Harvard pedia-
228
trician in the early 1950s. Dr. Apt is also credited with the first descriptions of agammaglobulinemia and mothball anemia, caused by childhood ingestion of naphthalene. He was also among the first to use plastic hardware for blood transfusions. Dr. Apt’s early ophthalmological work involved nematode endophthalmitis and pediatric uveal melanoma. He demonstrated that allergic reactions to ophthalmic catgut sutures could be predicted by a skin test. Leonard Apt was the developer of the waxy coating that first enabled synthetic absorbable sutures smooth enough for ophthalmic use. In collaboration with his student and colleague Sherwin J. Isenberg, MD, Apt spent much of the last three decades studying prevention and treatment of ophthalmic infections. Apt and Isenberg pioneered the use of povidone-iodine for surgical disinfection before ophthalmic surgery, an agent now in widespread use for this purpose worldwide. In large international studies, these collaborators also demonstrated the clinical and costeffectiveness of povidone-iodine for prophylaxis of ophthalmia neonatorum and even for treatment of bacterial and fungal infections of the conjunctiva and cornea. Dr. Apt published over 300 papers in the medical and ophthalmic literature. He received hundreds of prestigious awards, including the American Academy of Pediatrics Lifetime Achievement Award, Distinguished Alumnus Award from Jefferson Medical College, UCLA Alumni Association Award for Excellence, and the UCLA Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award. In his honor, the American Academy of Pediatrics created the biennial “Leonard Apt Lecture.” In 2010 he was selected National Physician of the Year by a vote among all physicians in the United States. Dr. Apt was cofounder and codirector of the UCLA Center to Prevent Childhood Blindness, a preschool vision-screening program. Dr. Apt was generously philanthropic with funds from family trusts, endowing both a professorship and a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology at UCLA. He was a founder of the John Wooden UCLA Athletic Center, a member of the UCLA Coach’s Round Table, and a true UCLA Bruin fan. Dr. Apt supported musical performances at UCLA Royce Hall, the UCLA Hammer Museum of Graphic Arts, and UCLA student scholarships. He was a connoisseur of fine food and wines. He is survived by nephews Kenneth Rappaport and Robert Hersh. He is also survived by thousands of colleagues, students, and friends, and countless millions of patients who benefited greatly from his wisdom, work, and humanism. We shall all miss Leonard Apt. MD.
Sherwin J. Isenberg, MD Joseph L. Demer, MD, PhD Los Angeles, California J. Bronwyn Bateman, MD Denver, Colorado http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaapos.2013.02.001
Journal of AAPOS