Chandler & Grant

Paul A Chandler, MD, graduated from Hastings College, Harvard Medical School and did residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI), a teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School. Following residency, Dr. Chandler went into practice in Nebraska with Eugene C. Foote, M.D., head of the Foote Clinic.

Dr. Chandler was invited back to MEEI by George Derby, M.D., and established the Glaucoma Service there in the 1940s. The Paul A. Chandler Visiting Professorship at MEEI was created by David Cogan, M.D., Chief of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Chandler retired from active practice in 1984 at the age of 82. In 1986, Harvard Medical School established the Paul A. Chandler Professorship of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Chandler's favorite quote:
"I hold everyman a debtor to his profession. From the which as men do, of course, seek to receive countenance and profit. So ought they of duty to endeavor themselves by way of amends to be a help and an ornament thereto." - Sir Francis Bacon

Lessons from Dr. Chandler:

If the disc is normal at the beginning of treatment, damage can be prevented over a period of many years even with a tension in the mid twenties.
A tension of 20 mm Hg will be too high for a considerably damaged eye. In moderately advanced glaucoma further loss can be prevented if the tension is maintained at a sufficiently low level
An eye with a cupped disc withstands increased tension poorly.

W Morton Grant, MD, graduated from Harvard Medical School. He had a lifelong interest in organic chemistry which is reflected in his major work "Toxicology of the Eye." He began his career in the Howe Laboratory at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) in 1943, working with David Cogan, M.D. on the effects of mustard gas on the eye. Although his career at the Howe Lab never involved specific ophthalmology or glaucoma training, he became a world leader in both. He and Paul Chandler held weekly coffee seminars to discuss glaucoma, and an invitation to attend was a high point in an ophthalmology resident's education. Dr. Grant had a reserved, almost ascetic and self-sacrificing manner, with a wonderful, dry sense of humor.

Dr. Grant served as the first director of the Glaucoma Consultation Service at MEEI . His professional career was multifaceted.

Four noteworthy aspects of Grant's career:

Tonography: Grant made the assessment of aqueous outflow a clinically relevant and useful test. He determined that the facility of aqueous outflow (hydraulic conductivity, also known as "C" value) was decreased in glaucoma, indicating the trabecular meshwork was plugged. Tonography is helpful in assessing the risk of developing glaucoma, and is still used in studying the mechanism of action of medications.
Clinical treatment of glaucoma: Together with Chandler developed the definitive ideas on treating glaucoma, published in papers and a textbook. Their clinical observations that progressively lower intraocular pressures are required for eyes with increased glaucoma damage is summarized in table 8 from his article with Joseph Burke on "Why do some people go blind from glaucoma?" (Ophthalmology 1982)

Chandler and Grant's textbook was originally published in 1965, and was based on a series of lectures they had given. It has gone through four revisions and is still in print. The current publication is from April 2013

Grant's work with toxicology remains unparalleled in ophthalmology. It has gone through four editions, the most recent with co-author Joel Schumann.

Last Updated on Monday, October 16, 2017 10:08 AM

Chandler Grant Glaucoma Society
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Pittsburgh, PA 15212
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