Wills Clinical Conference

1086

EDITORIALS

ratories and historic California Missions near at hand. Local ophthalmologists participated in the round-table discussions and in instruc­ tional courses. S. Rodman Irvine

WILLS CLINICAL CONFERENCE On February 21, 22 and 23, a record num­ ber of registrants were treated to a wide va­ riety of scientific and other activities at the 15th annual clinical conference of the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia under the skilled guidance of the chairman, P. J. Kennedy. Prof. Hans Goldmann, the Bedell lecturer, emphasized that in the evaluation of lens pathology more attention should be paid to the thickness of the zones of discontinuity, to the rate of growth of the lens fibers and to the light-scattering property of the nuclei. R. N. Shaffer in a talk on the congenital glau­ comas before the Section on Ophthalmology, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, advocated routine tonometry from the age of 15 years and advised performing goniotomy only under adequate visual observation. From the Wills Research Department, I. H. Leopold reported on the efficacy of Colistin and Thiosporin in gram-negative bacterial infections of the eye. P. Laibson found IDU 85 percent effective in early dendritic keratitis but S. Hecht obtained no benefit from its use in epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. M. Nozaki discovered a similarity between certain antigens in kidney glomeruli and in some eye tissues. F. Mutlu believes the mural cells of retinal capillaries differentiate into endothelial cells. N. Krishna disclosed that Tyramine may become useful as a mydriatic with an intraocular-pressure lowering effect. A. Levine reported on the appearance and lack of toxicity of intraocular fluid sili­ cone implants in animals and man. A panel consisting of P. Robb McDonald, L. K. Sarin, W. H. Annesley, Jr., and W. S. Tassman discussed many aspects of retinal detachment. This was nicely supplemented

with a demonstration of the technique of in­ direct ophthalmoscopy by C. J. Rife as part of the color television program. Refraction was the subject of another panel discussion by B. C. Gettes, B. Wolpaw, J. Morrison and S. Weiss. This, too, was supported by a critical evaluation of contact lenses in aphakia by K. Michaile. In addition to the always popular live color television surgery, motion pictures were pre­ sented by E. Spaeth demonstrating exenteration of the orbit with resection of the maxilla and hard palate ; by C. Kelman on cryophthalmic cataract extraction; by G. Shannon on entropion repair by means of vertical shorten­ ing of the lid ; and by K. Kasper on excision of an ethmof rontal mucocele causing proptosis. W. Annesley cured a case of angiomatosis and retinal detachment by scleroplasty and photocoagulation. W. Mott recommended a black-silk safety traction suture in muscle sur­ gery. O. Kline, Jr., claims zonulolysis in cata­ ract surgery improves visual results. A large lid tumor which baffled many pathologists was described by R. Lubowitz. Supraclinoid aneurysms and diabetes account for many cases of oculomotor nerve paralysis according to W. Green. Topical adrenaline under careful gonioscopic observation was successfully used by E. Lipsius in selected cases of narrow-angle glaucoma. D. Praeger and R. King presented five cases of amebic choroiditis that responded satisfactorily to amebacidal drugs. T. Hedges, Jr., described a case of ocular myasthenia gravis associated with bronchogenic carcinoma. Dramatic im­ provement of trichinosis with ocular involve­ ment was produced by Thiabendazole under the guidance of G. Spaeth. J. W. Hallett OBITUARY CONRAD BERENS, M.D. 1889-1963 A prolonged and painful illness preceded the death of one of the world's great ophthal-