ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
ASCRS News
December 2021
Emanuel Rosen, MD, FRCSEd, former co-editor of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (JCRS), passed away on November 20.
As editor of the European Journal of Implant and Refractive Surgery from 1983 to 1996, Dr. Rosen was one of the founding editors of JCRS. He was co-editor from 1996 to 2014, and he received special recognition at the 2014 ASCRS Annual Meeting for his contributions to JCRS. After leaving his role as co-editor, Dr. Rosen took over as case reports editor, leading the introduction of JCRS Case Reports Online.
“Emanuel Rosen was the consummate gentleman ophthalmologist. His contributions to ophthalmology, especially his work developing and improving the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, helped provide cataract surgeons with one of their most trusted sources of anterior segment knowledge. He will be missed dearly,” said ASCRS President Richard Hoffman, MD.
Dr. Rosen spent most of his career in the NHS at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, then at Pinderfields & Pontefract NHS Trust. He established a private practice, the Rosen Eye Clinic, in 1995. During his career, he developed special interests in cataract and refractive surgery, medical retinal disease, and ophthalmic clinical litigation.
Dr. Rosen was a past president of several organizations, including ESCRS (1988–1993), the United Kingdom & Ireland Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons, and the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club (2000–2002). Dr. Rosen received many honors during the course of his career, including the ASCRS Honored Guest Award in 2010. He was the author and/or editor of a number of ophthalmic textbooks and more than 120 articles in peer-reviewed ophthalmic literature.
Stephen Obstbaum, MD, his former co-editor of JCRS, remembered Dr. Rosen, sharing comments from a letter he sent to Dr. Rosen after his retirement as co-editor. “Your willingness to consider a merger of the European and American journals was a further testament to your dedication to the goal of educating the cataract and refractive surgeon, your colleagues,” Dr. Obstbaum said in the letter. “Only a few of us know of the energy you expended to make this merger a reality. It is one of the true success stories in contemporary ophthalmology.”
Dr. Obstbaum further noted Dr. Rosen’s role in ESCRS and advancing the society’s mission and his understanding of the needs of its members, adding that through his leadership, Dr. Rosen “effectively and directly influenced generations of ophthalmologists and indirectly, the lives of their patients.”
“Our profession is profoundly indebted to you for all your contributions,” Dr. Obstbaum concluded.
ESCRS President Rudy Nuijts, MD, PhD, shared the organization’s message honoring Dr. Rosen and the instrumental role he played in ESCRS. “Emanuel will be remembered for his enthusiasm and energy, which led to an innovative and visionary career. He was one of the giants in ESCRS and modern ophthalmology history.”
I. Howard Fine, MD, shared his thoughts on Dr. Rosen. “Emanuel Rosen was a spectacular doctor and a wonderful ophthalmologist,” he said. “He had a sense of unity with respect to ophthalmology throughout the world. He was very instrumental in making ESCRS the great organization that it is, and he led that organization for quite a while.”
He added that it was Dr. Rosen’s and Dr. Obstbaum’s combined vision that the two societies should join and have a publication that represented them both.
“He’s made a unique and invaluable contribution to international ophthalmology, and we all owe some measure of gratitude to him,” Dr. Fine said. “We’re sorry to hear of his passing, but we’re happy to acknowledge his contributions.”
