Charles Kelman

Who was Charles Kelman?

Charles D. Kelman was an ophthalmologist and a pioneer in cataract surgery.

Kelman was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 23, 1930 to Eva and David Kelman. After graduating from Forest Hills High School and Boston's Tufts University, he completed medical studies at the University of Geneva, Switzerland; an internship at Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn; and residency in ophthalmology at the Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia. He started a private practice in New York City in 1960.

In 1962 Dr. Kelman devised the cryo-probe, a freezing instrument for the extraction of cataracts within their capsules. This became the most widely-used method for cataract removal in the world until about 1978 when it was supplanted by extracapsular cataract extraction with irrigation and aspiration, also introduced by Dr. Kelman and still the technique used by a majority of cataract surgeons today. In 1963 Dr. Kelman pioneered the use of freezing for the repair of retinal detachments. Retinal cryopexy remains a frequent adjunct in retinal surgery to this day.