Posters

George Lawson and his work ‘Injuries of the Eye, Orbit, and Eyelids’: a first scientific approach to ophthalmic trauma

Poster Details

First Author: G.Balanikas GREECE

Co Author(s):    D. Peironidis   C. Georgiadou   S. Diafas   S. Maloutas   V. Karampatakis   D. Christodoulou     

Abstract Details

Purpose:

George Lawson (1831-1903) was the first to deal seriously with ophthalmic trauma.His work ‘Injuries of the Eye, Orbit, and Eyelids' Their Immediate and Remote Effects ‘published in 1867, was the stimulus for the avocation with the ophthalmic trauma,to which his contemporaries avoided entering.  Lawson,a perceptive observer, authentic thinker,a renowned clinician and surgeon as Hirschberg points out, saying for his work: ... It is an accurate and compact epitome that presents not only the experiences of the writer but also of his colleagues at Moorfields. It's apparent the influence of  this treatise on the ophthalmological community,as necessery and important.

Setting:

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, A' Ophthalmologic Clinic, AHEPA Hospital

Methods:

Lawson's original work is the main source for this presentation. The 1869 edition is used, containing 430 pages, 11 chapters and an appendix with explanations and indexes. Also inside the text there are many images that work subsidiary, the descriptions of the conditions as well as the techniques and the surgical methods, and  the  tools that were used.

Results:

Lawson's work includes gun wounds, foreign bodies and degenerative changes in already damaged eyes. He describes cases for every cause, pathological mechanism and systematic treatment before and when a 'sympathetic ophthalmia' appears in which he devotes much of his work. He also describes the application of topical treatment with atropine to break the iris adhesions.  Among the topics discussed are superficial wounds of the globe, burns, traumatic wounds, traumatic cataract, foreign bodies, intravitreous hemorrhages, ophthalmic  trauma from gunshots, orbital injuries and eyelid wounds, etc.

Conclusions:

George Lawson presented to his fellow colleagues an excellent, concise and pleasant treatise that opened the way for more active engagement with the eye injuries. The 52 woodcuts it contains are of a great value for further understanding of the text, and of the surgeon's methods. These facts have made Lawson's work a pioneering and absolutely useful tool in this difficult field of Ophthalmology.

Financial Disclosure:

None