Eric John Arnott was a British ophthalmologist and surgeon who specialized in cataracts, a condition which in many parts of the world still remains the principal cause of blindness.
25 Facts About Eric Arnott
1.
2.
Eric Arnott is known for inventing new surgical techniques for treatment of various ophthalmological disorders, and received professional awards for his contributions.
3.
Eric Arnott gained his Diploma in Ophthalmology in 1956 and Fellowship to the Royal College of Surgeons in 1963.
4.
Whilst at Moorfields he worked with Sir Harold Ridley, the inventor of the intraocular lens; Eric Arnott was inspired by Ridley's work on the intraocular lens and they later became lifelong friends.
5.
In 1973 the hospital moved to its current site in Fulham, where Eric Arnott was responsible for setting up the ophthalmic surgical services.
6.
Eric Arnott later organised two other live symposia with Professor Emanuel Rosen, with the objective of bringing new ideas in cataract surgery to a wider audience.
7.
Eric Arnott was known for his pioneering work in ophthalmology and many of today's top eye surgeons were trained by him whilst registrars at Charing Cross.
8.
In 1971, Eric Arnott visited the United States to attend one of Kelman's first courses.
9.
Six years later Arnott was virtually alone in performing and teaching this procedure outside America.
10.
Today, almost all cataract surgery is carried out using a variation of the technique that Eric Arnott pioneered in the UK in the early seventies.
11.
In 1974, influenced by Sir Harold Ridley's work on lens implantation, Eric Arnott designed the Little-Eric Arnott lens, which was manufactured by Rayners.
12.
In 1988 Eric Arnott was the first surgeon to insert a bi-focal lens implant in Europe.
13.
Eric Arnott was very early in recognising the new trend of laser refractive surgery to correct myopia.
14.
Eric Arnott acquired one of the first excimer lasers, which he located in Cromwell Hospital in 1991, where his private practice was based.
15.
In 2000 Eric Arnott received an award from the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club - the IIIC Medal, at the club's annual autumn meeting in Brussels, Belgium.
16.
In 1996, Eric Arnott was invited to officially open the first meeting of the Indian Academy of Ophthalmology, and in 1998 he was made an honorary visiting Professor at Indore University.
17.
Eric Arnott was a member of many international ophthalmic societies and was the founder President of the European Society for Phaco and Laser Surgery, Secretary of the Ophthalmic Society of the United Kingdom, President of the Chelsea Clinical Society and President of the International Association of Ocular Surgeons.
18.
Eric Arnott was one of the original founder members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
19.
In 2007 Eric Arnott received the Honoured Guest award from the ASCRS for his services to ophthalmology.
20.
Eric Arnott wrote over 40 published scientific articles for British and foreign ophthalmic journals on strabismus surgery, congenital abnormalities, cataract extraction, Phaco-emulsification and intra-ocular lenses.
21.
Eric Arnott was co-author of the 1983 textbook Extra-capsular Cataract Surgery and contributed specialist chapters to many other medical books including Emergency Surgery by H Dudley, Intra-ocular Lens Implantation by Rosen et al.
22.
Eric Arnott was born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, the second son of Sir Robert Eric Arnott Bt.
23.
Eric Arnott's family were notable Anglo-Irish philanthropists who owned, amongst other things, Arnotts department store, the Irish Times, and the Phoenix Park Racecourse.
24.
Eric Arnott was married to Veronica from 1960 until her death in 2011 and had two sons, Stephen John 1962, Robert Laureston John 1971 and one daughter Tatiana Amelia 1963.
25.
When Eric Arnott finally retired at the age of 70 years, he bought a retirement cottage in Cornwall in Mounts Bay overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from where he wrote his memoirs "A New Beginning in Sight" before his death 1 December 2011.