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Gerrit Melles

Cornea Specialist/ Director, NIIOS, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Gerrit is a legend of corneal surgery, pioneering and developing techniques for corneal tissue preparation and transplantation, such as DALK, DLEK, DSEK/ DSAEK, DMEK, DMET and Bowman’s layer transplantation. He’s been described as “the father of lamellar keratoplasty,” particularly for DMEK, which represented a milestone in corneal surgery. His objective is to treat corneal disorders with minimally invasive techniques, and he has also developed several instruments and medical devices to facilitate these surgical procedures, as well as vital dyes (Vision Blue and Membrane Blue), and has invented a device, SurgiCube, that provides sterile airflow over a patient enabling certain procedures to be performed under sterile conditions, but outside of an operating theater. Melles has received several awards including the Barraquer Award in recognition of his contribution to ophthalmology.

Challenging Convention

Will Eye Bling Take Off?

Fighting Tears

A Vital Part of Anterior Segment Surgery

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Part of the Power List 2018

100 reasons to be proud

This is the third time we have tried to map the Top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology. The list includes surgeons, scientists, engineers, CEOs and more, and each one of them has been voted for by you, our readers.

Go to The Power List 2018