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St. Dunstan's
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY Published Monthly by the Ophthalmic Publishing Company EDITORIAL STAFF DERRICK V A I L , L T . - C O L . ( M C ) , A.U.S.,
in-Chief
LAWRENCE
(on active duty) T. , POST,
Acting
Editor-
RALPH
C. S. O ' B R I E N
Editor-in-Chief
The State University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City
640 South Kingshighway, Saint Louis
WILLIAM
H . CRISP, Consulting
Editor
ALCERNON B. R E E S E
530 Metropolitan Building, Denver
73 East Seventy-first Street, New York
M. U R I B E TRONCOSO
W I L L I A M L. BENEDICT
T h e Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
F.
FREDERICK C. CORDES
384 Post Street, San Francisco
HARRY S. GRADLE
58 East Washington Street, Chicago E M M A S. B U S S , Manuscript
H . MILLER
803 Carew Tower, Cincinnati
500 West End Avenue, New York E.
WOODRUFF
824 Metropolitan Building, Saint Louis
A L A N C. WOODS
Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, more Editor, 5428 Delmar Boulevard, Saint Louis
Directors: LAWRENCE T . POST, P r e s i d e n t ; W I L L I A M L. BENEDICT, V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ; J. LYLE, Secretary and T r e a s u r e r ; W I L L I A M H . CRISP, HARRY S. GRADLE.
Balti-
DONALD
Address original papers, other scientific communications including correspondence, also books for review and reports of society proceedings to Dr. Lawrence T. Post, 640 South Kingshighway, Saint Louis, Missouri. Exchange copies of medical journals should be sent to Dr. William H. Crisp, 530 Metropolitan Building, Denver, Colorado. Subscriptions, applications for single copies, notices of change of address, and communications with reference to advertising should be addressed to the Manager of Subscriptions and Advertising, 837 Carew Tower, Cincinnati, Ohio. Copy of advertisements must be sent to the manager by the fifteenth of t h e month preceding its appearance. Author's proofs should be corrected and returned within forty-eight hours to the Manuscript Editor, Miss Emma S. Buss, 5428 Delmar Boulevard, Saint Louis, Missouri. Twenty-five reprints of each article will be supplied to the author without charge. Additional reprints may be obtained from the printer, the George Banta Publishing Company, 450-458 Ahnaip Street, Menasha, Wisconsin, if ordered at the time proofs a r e returned. But reprints to contain colored plates must be ordered when the article is accepted.
ST. DUNSTAN'S St. Dunstan's was founded toward the end of the last war by Sir Arthur Pearson with the purpose of establishing a training center for Service-blinded individuals. Its value in the last war is too well known to require discussion, and in the ensuing years, until the outbreak of the present war, its graduates were carefully watched and taken care of as by a fraternal type of organization. There were various local and general reunions held at least annually and sometimes more often. Case-workers followed their cases during all these years, helping in innumerable ways to ease the burden of blindness and to improve the quality of 756
training as much as possible. Therefore when the demands of the present war began to increase the burden on St. Dunstan's, many of its graduates were called back as teachers of the newly blinded unfortunates. A recent inspection of St. Dunstan's reveals the careful thought directed toward the care, comfort, and training of those who have been catastrophically blinded. The individual is taught typing, Braille, shorthand Braille, which is extremely difficult, and the ordinary occupations of the blind with which we, at home, are familiar; such as, weaving, basket-making, and so forth. The two most highly complicated forms of training being un-
EDITORIALS
dertaken are those of massage and telephony or switchboard operating. After a careful study of the individual, every effort is made to determine the type of training most suited to him. A number of these men (and women) were personally interviewed, and it was interesting to observe that their courage and morale began to develop often in as short a space of time as one week after their arrival at St. Dunstan's. There have been a few women patients admitted in this war. These are the sad victims of explosions which destroyed their sight eirner in munitions factories or as a result of the Blitz. The authorities wisely considered that these were Service-blinded people and gave them the same care as they give the soldier, sailor, or merchant marine. St. Dunstan's is an institution, supported by private funds, that has a farand-wide popular appeal due to the natural pity that blindness evokes. During its years of existence it has become known throughout the world, and St. Dunstan's graduates are to be found everywhere. The value of such an organization is at once apparent, since it means that as soon as the individual recovers enough from his injury to begin to think, he immediately considers St. Dunstan's and knows, either through hearsay or personal evidence, what it can do for him. He is, therefore, filled with hope and courage and is generally eager to begin his training to learn to be blind. This is a great psychologic advantage, because instead of reluctantly entering into the very trying period of training—a training that requires great powers of concentration—he is in a responsive frame of mind from the outset. An institution modeled along the lines of St. Dunstan's is being planned by our Government for our men blinded in war, and it will be gratefully received by all of our American people. Derrick Vail.
757
M E E T I N G O F T H E AMERICAN O P H T H A L M O L O G I C A L SOCIETY The seventy-ninth meeting of the American Ophthalmological Society was held on June 10th, 11th, and 12th at the Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia. Once arrived everything was satisfactory. But transportation problems were difficult, and several who decided to come only at the last moment were unable to get railway accommodations. Eightyseven members registered and about 15 guests, a very good attendance considering the national emergency. Very few papers were submitted early, probably because of the uncertainty as to transportation. However, the members must have had good material up their sleeves because the program, though perhaps not scientifically outstanding, was exceedingly interesting and there were a number of better-than-average papers. To select any for special comment may indicate rather the interest of the reporter than the merit of the paper. Often especially worthy contributions are abstruse and require careful study, such as is impossible when first heard, before their true significance is appreciated. To a teacher the "Ophthalmoscopic classification of hypertensive diseases" by Grady E. Clay and Mason Baird was of unusual interest. It seemed one of the best classifications that has been presented. Dr. Clay recommended that a committee be formed to study the subject and report to the Society a year hence. The committee should confer with ophthalmic pathologists because it is most important that the relationship of the clinical and pathologic pictures should be an important part of any disease classification. Dr. Raymond L. Pfeiffer presented a most illuminating series of 10 cases of traumatic enophthalmos. Beautiful X rays showed clearly fracture of the floor of
in-Chief
LAWRENCE
(on active duty) T. , POST,
Acting
Editor-
RALPH
C. S. O ' B R I E N
Editor-in-Chief
The State University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City
640 South Kingshighway, Saint Louis
WILLIAM
H . CRISP, Consulting
Editor
ALCERNON B. R E E S E
530 Metropolitan Building, Denver
73 East Seventy-first Street, New York
M. U R I B E TRONCOSO
W I L L I A M L. BENEDICT
T h e Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
F.
FREDERICK C. CORDES
384 Post Street, San Francisco
HARRY S. GRADLE
58 East Washington Street, Chicago E M M A S. B U S S , Manuscript
H . MILLER
803 Carew Tower, Cincinnati
500 West End Avenue, New York E.
WOODRUFF
824 Metropolitan Building, Saint Louis
A L A N C. WOODS
Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, more Editor, 5428 Delmar Boulevard, Saint Louis
Directors: LAWRENCE T . POST, P r e s i d e n t ; W I L L I A M L. BENEDICT, V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ; J. LYLE, Secretary and T r e a s u r e r ; W I L L I A M H . CRISP, HARRY S. GRADLE.
Balti-
DONALD
Address original papers, other scientific communications including correspondence, also books for review and reports of society proceedings to Dr. Lawrence T. Post, 640 South Kingshighway, Saint Louis, Missouri. Exchange copies of medical journals should be sent to Dr. William H. Crisp, 530 Metropolitan Building, Denver, Colorado. Subscriptions, applications for single copies, notices of change of address, and communications with reference to advertising should be addressed to the Manager of Subscriptions and Advertising, 837 Carew Tower, Cincinnati, Ohio. Copy of advertisements must be sent to the manager by the fifteenth of t h e month preceding its appearance. Author's proofs should be corrected and returned within forty-eight hours to the Manuscript Editor, Miss Emma S. Buss, 5428 Delmar Boulevard, Saint Louis, Missouri. Twenty-five reprints of each article will be supplied to the author without charge. Additional reprints may be obtained from the printer, the George Banta Publishing Company, 450-458 Ahnaip Street, Menasha, Wisconsin, if ordered at the time proofs a r e returned. But reprints to contain colored plates must be ordered when the article is accepted.
ST. DUNSTAN'S St. Dunstan's was founded toward the end of the last war by Sir Arthur Pearson with the purpose of establishing a training center for Service-blinded individuals. Its value in the last war is too well known to require discussion, and in the ensuing years, until the outbreak of the present war, its graduates were carefully watched and taken care of as by a fraternal type of organization. There were various local and general reunions held at least annually and sometimes more often. Case-workers followed their cases during all these years, helping in innumerable ways to ease the burden of blindness and to improve the quality of 756
training as much as possible. Therefore when the demands of the present war began to increase the burden on St. Dunstan's, many of its graduates were called back as teachers of the newly blinded unfortunates. A recent inspection of St. Dunstan's reveals the careful thought directed toward the care, comfort, and training of those who have been catastrophically blinded. The individual is taught typing, Braille, shorthand Braille, which is extremely difficult, and the ordinary occupations of the blind with which we, at home, are familiar; such as, weaving, basket-making, and so forth. The two most highly complicated forms of training being un-
EDITORIALS
dertaken are those of massage and telephony or switchboard operating. After a careful study of the individual, every effort is made to determine the type of training most suited to him. A number of these men (and women) were personally interviewed, and it was interesting to observe that their courage and morale began to develop often in as short a space of time as one week after their arrival at St. Dunstan's. There have been a few women patients admitted in this war. These are the sad victims of explosions which destroyed their sight eirner in munitions factories or as a result of the Blitz. The authorities wisely considered that these were Service-blinded people and gave them the same care as they give the soldier, sailor, or merchant marine. St. Dunstan's is an institution, supported by private funds, that has a farand-wide popular appeal due to the natural pity that blindness evokes. During its years of existence it has become known throughout the world, and St. Dunstan's graduates are to be found everywhere. The value of such an organization is at once apparent, since it means that as soon as the individual recovers enough from his injury to begin to think, he immediately considers St. Dunstan's and knows, either through hearsay or personal evidence, what it can do for him. He is, therefore, filled with hope and courage and is generally eager to begin his training to learn to be blind. This is a great psychologic advantage, because instead of reluctantly entering into the very trying period of training—a training that requires great powers of concentration—he is in a responsive frame of mind from the outset. An institution modeled along the lines of St. Dunstan's is being planned by our Government for our men blinded in war, and it will be gratefully received by all of our American people. Derrick Vail.
757
M E E T I N G O F T H E AMERICAN O P H T H A L M O L O G I C A L SOCIETY The seventy-ninth meeting of the American Ophthalmological Society was held on June 10th, 11th, and 12th at the Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia. Once arrived everything was satisfactory. But transportation problems were difficult, and several who decided to come only at the last moment were unable to get railway accommodations. Eightyseven members registered and about 15 guests, a very good attendance considering the national emergency. Very few papers were submitted early, probably because of the uncertainty as to transportation. However, the members must have had good material up their sleeves because the program, though perhaps not scientifically outstanding, was exceedingly interesting and there were a number of better-than-average papers. To select any for special comment may indicate rather the interest of the reporter than the merit of the paper. Often especially worthy contributions are abstruse and require careful study, such as is impossible when first heard, before their true significance is appreciated. To a teacher the "Ophthalmoscopic classification of hypertensive diseases" by Grady E. Clay and Mason Baird was of unusual interest. It seemed one of the best classifications that has been presented. Dr. Clay recommended that a committee be formed to study the subject and report to the Society a year hence. The committee should confer with ophthalmic pathologists because it is most important that the relationship of the clinical and pathologic pictures should be an important part of any disease classification. Dr. Raymond L. Pfeiffer presented a most illuminating series of 10 cases of traumatic enophthalmos. Beautiful X rays showed clearly fracture of the floor of