In 1970, Ian shared the named Prize for Ophthalmology at Sydney University in Medicine 5, and in 1971 was awarded the named Prize for Medical Therapeutics in Medicine 6. He attributed these prizes and subsequent achievements to two famous, generous and ground-breaking Ophthalmologists: Dr Geoff Hipwell, and the brilliant teacher and Ophthalmological innovator, Dr M. B. Kappagoda (Kappa).
Kappa improved upon the dictum of Sir William Osler, the father of Modern Medicine, by stating: “Listen to the patient – the patient is desperately trying to tell you the diagnosis”. This has been Professor Francis’ working mantra for over 40 years in Ophthalmology. Accordingly, Geoff and Kappa would have agreed with Ian’s notion that “The eye bone is connected to the brain bone and the body bone”.
Skills in Ophthalmological diagnosis, Cataract surgery, Ocular Plastics Surgery, Neuro-ophthalmology, and more recently the medical management of Macular Degeneration, were initially developed on fellowships overseas in England, the USA, and West Africa. Numerous subsequent trips to conferences, mainly in the USA, and pro-bono to developing countries, have augmented this experience.
In 2007, Ian was awarded a PhD, entitled ‘The Watery Eye’. This improved on the classification of tearing from the eyes, adding ‘Plerolacrima’ to the traditional classification of tearing, which was originally of Epiphora and Lacrimation.
In March, 2023, Ian submitted his DSc thesis for international refereeing. This is an 1150-page document entitled: ‘Cataracts in Medicine for 2020: Translation of aetiology, associations, and management into surgical and visual outcomes’. The message of the DSc is that following uneventful cataract surgery, over 92% of all patients should be able to see 6/4, with or without correction. Furthermore, if the patient cannot manage this, there has to be an explanation.
Every second Saturday morning, Ian jointly runs the Sydney Ophthalmology Writers Group (WG) at his Rooms in Chatswood. WG aims to help and teach potential Ophthalmology trainees. WG produced 18 national and international publications in 2022. Ian has authored over 320 publications in the peer-reviewed literature.
His main Ophthalmological interests nowadays are in Macular Degeneration and Neuro-ophthalmology, and especially in Temporal Arteritis and Temporal Artery Biopsy. He is dedicated to performing Temporal Artery Biopsies at short notice.
Ian has two sons and 5.5 grandchildren. He has been a kit drummer for 31 years, especially for church music. He also enjoys surfboard riding, which he has done worldwide, always hoping to improve his wave-catching percentage. He is reasonably fluent in French, German and Italian, and speaks passable English. He is currently attempting, quite assiduously, to learn Modern Standard Arabic.
Mobile: 0408 839 926