ASCRS Remembers I. Howard Fine, MD
It is with sadness that ASCRS has learned of the passing of ASCRS Past President I. Howard Fine, MD. Dr. Fine died Thursday, August 29, 2024. On behalf of the Executive Committee, Leadership Committee, membership, and staff, we extend our deepest condolences to the Fine family.
“With the passing of I. Howard Fine on August 29, ophthalmology has lost one of its most innovative and prolific surgeons. I had the pleasure of working with Howard for more than 30 years and was always impressed with his work ethic, ingenuity, and approachability,” said Richard S. Hoffman, MD. “Howard was instrumental in improving the power modulation settings that we currently take for granted on our phacoemulsification machines. He described cortical cleaving hydrodissection for improved cortex removal, and most importantly, he was the innovator of clear corneal cataract incisions.”
Dr. Fine was president of ASCRS from 2001–2002 and was inducted into the ASCRS Ophthalmology Hall of Fame in 2018. He was integral in founding the ASCRS Foundation. Dr. Fine also served as president of the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club from 2008–2010.
Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, said Dr. Fine was a mentor and special friend. “I met Howard early in my career at an ASCRS meeting, and he befriended me immediately, as he had hundreds of other anterior segment surgeons seeking to learn from this grand master cataract/IOL surgeon.” Dr. Lindstrom added that ASCRS was a shared passion for them.
“Howard dedicated himself to leadership at ASCRS and served as its 16th president,” Dr. Lindstrom said. “Howard was everywhere at the ASCRS meetings, lecturing and leading. He was an active reviewer and author for the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. Howard led the creation of the ASCRS Foundation, and he nurtured it through its formative years as a major donor and the first ASCRS Foundation Board Chairman.”
Up until his retirement, Dr. Fine practiced at Drs. Fine, Hoffman, & Sims Ophthalmologists in Eugene, Oregon. He is credited with designing dozens of instruments, implants, and surgical procedures.
“Many younger surgeons are probably not aware that phacoemulsification was originally performed through a superiorly located scleral incision with or without the use of sutured wound closure,” Dr. Hoffman said. “Howard discovered that the surgery could be performed through a small temporal clear corneal incision, imparting many benefits such as a reduction in against-the-rule astigmatism drift. Clear corneal cataract surgery is now the norm throughout most of the world—thanks to Howard’s innovation.”
Dr. Fine received his undergraduate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and attended Boston University Medical Center for medical school and residency. In addition to more than 45 years in private practice, in his career Dr. Fine served as a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Oregon Health & Science University and was co-founder of the Oregon Eye Surgery Center.
Dr. Fine has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed articles, written book chapters, and edited textbooks. In addition, he delivered countless lectures and received numerous awards, including the ASCRS Cornelius D. Binkhorst, MD, Lecture and Medal in 2010, and the ASCRS Charles D. Kelman, MD, Innovator’s Lecture and Medal in 1994.
In addition to his impact on ophthalmology, Dr. Lindstrom said he and Dr. Fine rode motorcycles together and enjoyed great meals, good wine, and a few cigars.
“I. Howard Fine will be remembered by his patients as a compassionate, caring physician and master surgeon. He will be remembered by his colleagues for his friendly, welcoming nature, commitment to teaching, and extraordinary contributions to ASCRS. I will remember him for his love of life and the great friendship we shared,” Dr. Lindstrom said.
Dr. Hoffman said Dr. Fine was “a caring, ethical, hard-working surgeon who was loved by his staff, patients, and fellow ophthalmologists around the world. He had a tremendous wit and enjoyed teaching surgeons to perform better cataract surgery. Howard was one of my best friends, and I will miss him dearly.”