Richard L. Lindstrom pays tribute to Jan Worst

Jan Worst, MD, was a unique man and ophthalmologist. I have never met anyone quite like him.

I met him when I attended the first European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (then the European Intraocular Lens Implant Council) meeting in The Hague, Netherlands. His passionate enthusiasm for IOL implants and love of open debate were immediately apparent. He loved to discuss and debate any topic ophthalmic, and his breadth of knowledge and experience was apparent to all.

I later had the opportunity to visit him in Groningen, Netherlands, with my good friend Vance Thompson, MD, to train for the U.S. clinical trial on the Verisyse iris clip phakic IOL (Abbott Medical Optics). Jan was a gracious host along with his ever-present and talented wife and son. We observed his private laboratory where he performed groundbreaking research on the vitreous and lens implants. We watched him in clinic and in surgery, and he was a caring clinician and skilled surgeon.

In addition to his clinical and research prowess, Worst was an inventor of many instruments and devices. He co-founded with his family both Medical Workshop and Ophtec. He was a giver, traveling frequently to Nepal, India and Pakistan to teach, perform surgery and develop products for cost-effective cataract surgery in the third world. Likely a million or more of his iris clip lens implants have been implanted worldwide. He was a founding member of the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club, and this group held him in such reverence that it created an annual medal lectureship in his name.

I feel honored to have known Worst in his prime, and we corresponded as friends to the end. I will remember him most for his unbounded intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, love for scientific discovery and debate, and giving spirit. – by Richard L. Lindstrom, MD

Disclosure: Lindstrom reports he is a consultant and investor in Abbott Medical Optics.