16 July 2024
Claes Dohlman, "father" of modern corneal surgery and 2022 António Champalimaud Vision Award, has died
Dolhman’s pioneering work led to the development of an artificial cornea, the Boston KPro, which today is used around the world.
Claes Dohlman, emeritus professor of Ophthalmology and former chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, died on July 14, 2024. He was 101.
Often recognized as the “father” of modern corneal science, Dohlman shared the 2022 António Champalimaud Vision Award with Gerrit Melles, from the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery in Rotterdam.
Dohlman, who was born in Sweden, celebrated his 100th birthday four days before receiving the award in Lisbon. At the time, he was still actively contributing to the writing of scientific papers and participating in his lab’s work, a lab he founded more than 60 years ago.
Dohlman transformed the way medicine understands the cornea, by developing several innovative treatments. He was especially proud of being recognised for inventing a prosthetic cornea, known as the Boston K-Pro, for patients whose eyes are too damaged to benefit from traditional donor transplantation. “An artificial window – an obvious solution if you have [to substitute] an opaque cornea”, he said in Lisbon where he received the Vision Award.
Dohlman’s prosthetic has become the most widely used artificial cornea, restoring sight to more than 15,000 patients in the United States and 52 other countries.
