guest editorial
Climbing Mountains; Saving Sight
This physician turned his love for mountain climbing into a humanitarian eyecare effort in the Himalayas.

Even after consulting in the field of ophthalmology for more than 12 years, I continue to be amazed at some of the personalities and unique individuals that I've been fortunate enough to meet in this area of medicine. Of all those I've met, Geoff Tabin, M.D., certainly stands out.

Dr. Tabin twice dropped out of medical school to attempt a new route up Mount Everest and even quit a residency in orthopedic surgery to go on yet another climbing adventure. He's a corneal specialist and associate professor of Surgery and Ophthalmology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, Vt., an adventurer who became just the fourth person ever to have climbed the highest peak on each of the seven continents, and a humanitarian who gives back to those in need as the co-director of the Himalayan Cataract Project.

	PHOTOGRAPHER: ALAN KEARNEY

Living Life to the Fullest

Geoff has recently documented his many adventures in a book titled Blind Corners, published by The Lyons Press. This book tells the almost unbelievable stories of Geoff's experiences, from the 70s TV show That's Incredible showing Geoff and friends bungee jumping from the Royal Gorge bridge (which stands 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River), to camping with the stone-age Dani tribe of New Guinea while on yet another climbing trip, as well as his inspiring ascent of the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest.

It was his passion for climbing adventures that ultimately led Geoff to pursue a career in ophthalmology. In 1988, he had dropped out of his orthopedic surgery residency to climb Mount Everest. Because returning to the residency program wasn't an option, he filled in for another physician as a primary care doctor in Nepal.

As he explains in his book, "I watched as a visiting team of Dutch doctors performed cataract surgery. One Sherpa woman had been totally blinded by cataracts for 3 years. She was unable to detect the motion of a hand waving just in front of her face and had never seen her grandchildren. The day after her cataract surgery was performed, she was able to see, and her joy was endless."

Dr. Tabin is on a Mission

Seeing how corrected vision can have such a dramatic and positive impact on someone's life in a third-world country has propelled Geoff into his latest adventure: The Himalayan Cataract Project. The mission of the Himalayan Cataract Project is to eradicate preventable and curable blindness in the Himalayas through high-quality ophthalmic care, education, and the establishment of a sustainable, world-class eyecare infrastructure.

The last part of that mission is the most important. The Himalayan Cataract Project teaches local doctors and support staff the most up-to-date techniques in eye health treatment and surgery -- so quality care can be delivered consistently and continuously.

I encourage all ophthalmologists to read Blind Corners, both to live vicariously through Geoff's experiences and to reinforce the knowledge that their skills do make a huge difference to their patients. While the vast majority of us will never participate in adventures of the magnitude described in this book, we can use it as an example that it's possible to fulfill both personal and professional goals, often at the same time.

The Himalayan Cataract Project is a 501(C) nonprofit organization. Those who would like to contribute money, equipment, supplies or time can contact The Himalayan Cataract Project, 1 South Prospect St., Burlington, Vt., 05401, call (802) 847-3843, or reach the Project via e-mail at www.cureblindness.org.

Brad Ruden, M.B.A., owns MedPro Consulting and Marketing Services in Phoenix, Ariz. You can reach him at (602) 274-1668, bruden@medprocms.com, or via his Web site at www.medprocms.com