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OBITUARY

We are sad to announce the sudden loss of two or our most senior and revered lacrimal surgeons, Professor Jeffrey Jay Hurwitz (Canada) and Professor Sergey Shkolnick (Russia).

Jeffrey Jay Hurwitz

Professor Hurwitz, International Society of Dacryology and Dry Eye (ISD-DE) Councillor, passed away on 4th February 2022 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada, where he had been the Ophthalmologist-in-Chief for over three decades. He was the author of one of the original books on Lacrimal Surgery which has survived the test of time: Jeffrey Jay Hurwitz. The Lacrimal System. Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Philadelphia, PA, 1995

Professor Hurwitz was a keen teacher and academic, and always had time to listen and mentor ophthalmologists, especially in lacrimal surgery. He was a strong supporter of ISD-DE, having been one of the original founders. We had hoped to see him in London in June 2020 but the Meeting was cancelled due to Covid-19.

One of my best memories of him was telling me in Greece 2017 how he had stopped running when he was around 70 years old but kept fit by roller-blading as it was a less intensive impact sport. He inspired people around him to believe they could achieve their potential and enjoy life fully.


Sergey Shkolnik

Lacrimal surgeon Sergey Shkolnick sadly died on 22nd March 2022 in Russia, from a short illness. He was an ophthalmologist and oculoplastic lacrimal surgeon in Cheboksary since 1988, at the Regional Branch of the Federov Institute. His daughter Galina worked closely with him and will continue his professional legacy.

Professor Shkolnick was a keen supporter of ISD-DE and attended the Annual Meetings of the European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ESOPRS), making close professional friends. He had contributed to the forthcoming international book on Watering and Dry Eyes to be published by Thieme. He wrote many peer reviewed papers on lacrimal surgery, mainly in the Russsian literature, as ГС Школьник. He promoted endo-nasal DCR. Shkol’nik GS, Shkol’nik SF, Krasnozhen VN, Pashtaev NP Cold-Plasma Ablation Use in Endoscopic Endonasal Dacryocystorhinostomy. Ophthalmology in Russia . 2019;16(4):467-471. (In Russ.)

He was a wonderful person, hard-working, warm and generous and will be missed by his international friends and colleagues.

Sergey Shkolnick is seated on the right.

 

Jane Olver,
London, 3rd April 2022

 

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