THE ADVENT of blindness in a patient who has previously enjoyed good vision never ceases to be distressing to an ophthalmologist. When such a situation occasionally arises in a medical confrère, the ophthalmologist's feeling of inadequacy is even keener, and the desire to be of service usually seems devoid of specifics. Though many lay and semiprofessional organizations for aid and instruction to the blind have developed valuable services and teaching programs, most of these do not touch the problem of a medical physician.
This study was undertaken after we had come face to face with such a problem. Medical and biographic literature were combed for records of physicians meeting this situation in the past and in the present. An extensive search was made, and all major institutions dealing with the blind in the United States were contacted in an effort to locate the unsighted physicians practicing in this country. In