This past week at the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS) meeting in Berlin, our very own, Dr. Stephen Slade of Slade and Baker Vision, was presented with an incredible honor, the Joseph Colin Award, named after a hero in ophthalmology.
Dr. Joseph Colin was well known in ophthalmology for a neverending list of contributions to refractive surgery, cataract surgery, the treatment of keratoconus and corneal disease. He contributed to an endless number of developments so the list continues. You can read more about Dr. Colin in this beautiful article.
Dr. Colin was revered, respected and loved by many; he passed away a couple years ago due to a terminal illness and is very missed. “Those who knew him well will never forget his wit, charm, contagious enthusiasm and joie de vivre. He had the charisma of a leader, but also the humble curiosity and eagerness of a scholar who realizes that learning never ends. He was a man of great achievements and fame, but he had a kind and open attitude that made everyone feel at ease, appreciated and welcome.”
Dr. Slade has an incredible list of awards he has achieved over the years, but this one is such a great honor as it was named after someone so special in ophthalmology and someone who we can’t help but compare Dr. Slade to.
The lecture in which Dr. Slade accepted this award in Berlin was titled “The Early Adopter”. As all of us who work alongside him at his office, we are well aware of just how “early” an adopter he is.
Dr. Slade was the first surgeon in the USA to perform LASIK as well as Laser Cataract Surgery.
We remember when that first femtosecond laser was delivered to our clinic and how the thought that cataract surgery could be assisted with a laser was way beyond what all other surgeons were adopting.
Dr. Slade is always the first to be presented with clinical trials that bring promise to so many with various eye conditions. This “honor” of an early adopter oftentimes brings with it the pressure to make these procedures and devices work; the pressure to document so many outcomes, and to report to various individuals/entities on the daily. This “honor” brings with it a drop of fame, that anyone would thing is wonderful as an ophthalmic surgeon, to get your name out there…but what many people forget is that this brings with it the need for an entrepreneurial spirit and one with a very discerning eye; an eye that protects his patients. An eye that knows not to adopt something that could potentially cause harm.
Dr. Slade has taken on this honor with such responsibility and such grace. With as much as he has adopted, he has had to carefully choose what to move forward with it, always with the thought of his patients safety and care at the forefront of his thoughts. We see it every day.
When reading the article about Dr. Joseph Colin, we could not help but think of how much Dr. Slade resembles what Dr. Colin’s colleagues and friends said about him, not just professionally, but personally.
A dignified surgeon who was a friend to so many. We are so pleased that Dr. Slade has been recognized not just in our own state or country; this award is an international one, one that spans globally in ophthalmology, because at the end of the day, he has affected patients in every country across the globe.
Congratulations Dr. Slade, to say you deserve this award is an understatement.
