Preserving the History of Retina, One Narrative at a Time

Tucked among the booths of pharmaceutical, technology and other companies serving the practice of ophthalmology at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) meeting last week was a display on the History of Retina . Sponsored by the Foundation of the American Society of Retina Specialists, the booth traced the leaders and the milestones of those who have worked to preserve sight in patients with retinal diseases.

The initiative first began in 2020 as an effort to capture interviews with pioneers in ophthalmology by Kirk H. Packo, M.D., a past president of ASRS and a former chairperson of the Department of Ophthalmology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who passed away on Sept. 1, 2023. Packo’s interview for the History of Retina can be found here .

“One of Kirk’s