Professor Ruprecht: A life for eye medicine and more!

Professor Ruprecht: A life for eye medicine and more!

On May 18th, Professor Dr. Klaus Wilhelm Ruprecht, an outstanding figure in ophthalmology, is celebrating his 85th birthday. Born in Breslau, who completed his high school diploma in Celle, he began his medical career at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen before continuing his training in Austria and Hamburg. In 1966 he completed his studies with a state examination and a doctorate. His further training took him abroad, where he acquired the certificate from the Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) in Philadelphia in 1968 and began his further training in pathology and electron microscopy.

After starting his specialist training in ophthalmology under the direction of Prof. Dr. Hans Sautter in Hamburg, Ruprecht received recognition as a specialist in ophthalmology in 1974. One of his academic highlights was his habilitation in 1979 in Tübingen with an important study on rubeosis iridis. The following year he accepted a C2 professorship in ophthalmology in Erlangen and in 1989 became director of the Homburg University Eye Clinic at Saarland University, a position he held until 2005.

Academic and clinical achievements

Professor Ruprecht is known not only for his clinical and microsurgical work, but also for his extensive involvement in academic training. He supervised almost 40 dissertations and seven habilitation theses and was involved in further training for colleagues from various European and non-European countries for over 40 years. His commitment led to valuable collaborations with medical institutions in countries such as Russia, China, Syria, Japan, Argentina and several African countries.

His work also included the founding of important initiatives. On July 14, 2000, he founded the LIONS cornea bank Saar-Lor-Lux-Trier-Westpfalz, for which he was awarded the Melvin Jones plaque by LIONS International. Special mention also deserves his award of the Paul Harris Medal from Rotary International in 1999 for outstanding achievements in ophthalmology.

Scientific heritage and commitment

Professor Ruprecht's scientific work had a lasting impact on ophthalmology, and Ruprecht-Majewski syndrome is named after him, an example of his contributions to ophthalmological research. He also played an important role in the “Association of Rhine-Main Ophthalmologists” and was on the general board of the German Ophthalmological Society from 1999 to 2003. His commitment to ophthalmology is also reflected in the founding of the “Association for the Promotion of Ophthalmology at the Homburg/Saar University Eye Clinic e.V.” in 1990 and the Foundation for Ophthalmology in 2005, of which he became honorary chairman.

Specialist training in ophthalmology, a field in which Ruprecht made a significant contribution to recognition, lasts 60 months in Germany and includes, among other things, surgery and diagnosis of eye diseases, whereby close interdisciplinary cooperation with other disciplines is necessary. There are currently 11,380 ophthalmology specialists registered in Germany, of which 8,135 are actively working, and the most common operation is cataract surgery, which is carried out around 100 million times worldwide every year.

One of his last artistic projects was the publication of the memoirs of Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Uhthoff in 2020, which documents his extensive knowledge and experience in ophthalmology. Ruprecht remains a living legend in ophthalmology, both for his clinical achievements and his tireless passion for medical education.

His journey from student training to managing a university clinic is not only inspiring for aspiring doctors, but also shows how important committed doctors are to advances in medicine. The academic world, further education and his humanitarian commitment are the formative legacy of Professor Dr. Klaus Wilhelm Ruprecht.

More information about his career and achievements can be found in the articles by uni-saarland.de, Wikipedia and Medical Journal to find.