Draft:Patrick Ian Condon

Consultant practice and service development

In 1974, Condon returned to Ireland to become consultant ophthalmic surgeon and director of the regional eye service for the Southeast Region, based at Waterford Regional Hospital (later University Hospital Waterford)^[2]. In this role, he reorganized eye healthcare services for a population of approximately 450,000 across counties Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, South Tipperary and Waterford,^[8] including development of new surgical operating facilities and training of staff in microsurgical techniques.^[2]​​^[9]

Condon retired from the public hospital service in 2000 and subsequently worked in private practice, which included Aut Even Hospital in Kilkenny (later University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre group) and a clinic in New Ross, County Wexford.^[10] During his career, he combined clinical work with teaching, invited lectures and contributions to professional organizations in Ireland and abroad.​​^[2]​​

Surgical Innovations

Condon's early research at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, which focused on corneal wound healing and suture materials, greatly influenced his later interests in corneal and cataract surgery. Drawing on personal experience and lasting friendships with pioneers such as Sir Harold Ridley, Peter Choyce, Eric Arnott, Dermot Pierse (UK) and Charles Kelman (USA),^[11] he was among the first surgeons in Ireland to introduce intraocular lens implantation for cataract in the early 1980s and to adopt small-incision phacoemulsification with foldable intraocular lenses.^[6] ​​In 1982, he was unanimously accepted into the International Intraocular Implant Club (IIIC), remaining as a current member.

He developed an expertise in corneal transplantation, using devices such as the Krumeich Guided Trephine System for penetrating keratoplasty and the Ruiz Automated Corneal Shaper (ACS) for lamellar surgery. In March 1993, he and Professor Michael O’Keefe performed what has been described as the first recorded LASIK refractive procedure in Ireland and the UK at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, using the ACS microkeratome and excimer laser technology.^[6]​​

Jamaica and sickle cell eye disease

In the early 1970s, Condon worked with hematologist Dr. Richard Huntsman at St Thomas’ Hospital on ocular complications of sickle cell disease in Jamaican patients living in south London. The UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust later supported his visits to Jamaica to collaborate with physician Graham Rodget Serjeant in assessing sickle cell eye disease,^[12] leading to several publications in the leading international ophthalmic literature. This work is cited in accounts of sickle cell disease in Jamaica and has contributed to recognition of the ocular manifestations in the different variants of the disease.​​^[13][14][15]

Professional societies

Condon became the first Irish council member of the European Intraocular Implant Council (EIIC) in 1974, later helping to guide its evolution into the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS). He served as ESCRS treasurer and chair of its congress committee from 1991-1999 and played a role in establishing its Winter Refractive meetings and in managing the merger of the European and American journals that created the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.​​^[16][17]

In the United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (UKISCRS), he served as president from 1994-96 and later received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018^[2]. He has also been president of the Irish Ophthalmological Society (since 1992 Irish College of Ophthalmologists), a life fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in London, and an active member of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland and the Irish College of Ophthalmologists.​​

Irish Fight for Sight Campaign and public health

In 1984, Condon founded the registered charity Irish Fight for Sight Campaign to promote prevention of blindness from eye injury in Ireland. The organization focused on industrial and sports eye protection campaigns, public education on preventable blindness, and free glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy screening clinics delivered in partnership with local optometrists.^[2]​

Irish Fight for Sight also worked with the National Blood Transfusion Service to establish the National Eye Bank in Dublin, providing donor corneal tissue to hospitals around the country.^[2] The charity also funded ophthalmic equipment for Irish hospitals, one project of which included the provision of laser technology to help prevent blindness in neonatal infants born prematurely.