Jorge Alio
The Power List 2020 – Power List
Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology at the Founder Vissum-Instituto Oftalmologico de Alicante, Spain
Your three wishes?
A healthy family, productive profession, good income to keep the two former in good shape.
Piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t waste your time with negative people or negative topics. Focus on what makes you happy and productive, so you can create something better from your patients. Get away from useless things, useless relationships and useless time wasters.
The most important moment of your career?
When a close friend of mine, George Waring III, invited me to dine at his home. He prepared a huge party in my honor with all my best friends who were attending the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Atlanta. I shall never forget that moment, as he even sent me a limousine to take me to his home in celebration of me winning the Barraquer award.
The most unexpected turn your career took?
When I was named Chairman of Ophthalmology at Alicante University, I was a retinal surgeon. Due to local reasons, I had to transform my career into cataract and refractive. But at that moment (in the late 80s), refractive surgery was considered and, indeed was, buccaneer surgery – not even a subspecialty – with nothing academic to learn. It was an opportunity to enter this most challenging and creative area of our profession.
