In the summer of 1972, a group of 4 intrepid vitreous warriors began backpacking trips to the San Juan range near Telluride, Colorado. Robert Machemer, Tom Aaberg Sr., Paul Wetzig and his son Rich, and Guy O'Grady made this trip each summer for several years. On the first trip, between hiking and libation, these pioneers of vitreoretinal surgery began discussing the idea of a vitrectomy seminar along the lines of a laser seminar that had been held a few times in Vail around 1970-72. In 1974, Robert announced that the first “Vitreous Surgery Seminar” at Vail would be held in March 1975, with the 4 backpackers as the presiding officers. Participation would be by invitation only to limit the size of the audience and to facilitate lively discussion and exchange of ideas.

Subject matter for the first Vitreous Surgery Seminar included instrumentation, surgical technique, surgical complications, postoperative complications and indications for vitrectomy, and laboratory research. Participants were required to present a new talk— something they had not previously presented—and the meeting was held in the spirit of open discussion of new ideas. Presenters included vitrectomists, anterior segment experts, and researchers. The participant list included Machemer, Aaberg, Landers, Federman, O'Grady, Charles, Ryan, Michels, Irvine, Wetzig, Buettner, Krieger, Fuller, Coleman, Fitzgerald, Fung, Edelhauser, Douvas, Blankenship, Hutton, Stark, Lewis, Urrets-Zavalia, Jack, Tasman, Bresnick, Myers, Brightbill, and Mandelcorn.

The original 4 continued backpacking for a few more years, making their last trip in 1976. Tom Aaberg Sr. fondly remembers climbing Mt. Handy (one of the 14,000+ ft peaks in the area) that September on his 40th birthday. As the valiant group approached the peak, only Robert, Tom, and son Tom Jr. pushed on to the top. With only 100 feet to go, the trio spotted a bear approximately 300 feet away heading down the peak. In his usual analytic manner, Robert assessed the situation and told the 2 others that because the common theory is that bears can run uphill much faster than downhill, he would wait and keep an eye on the bear while the others others finished the climb to the summit. This bit of trivia may help explain why members of the group are holding beer cans in many of the photos taken during these hiking trips.

CRITERIA FOR ATTENDANCE

The Vail Vitrectomy meeting has been held every 3 to 4 years since its inception (the timing determined by when Robert felt that there was enough new information to hold such a meeting). The rules have been simple for attendance: attendees must be invited; all attendees must present new information that has never been presented (preferably about surgery, research, or histopathology); and attendees must agree not to divulge the information presented at the meeting, whether in a presentation or a publication, until it is presented.

The Vail meeting has undoubtedly inspired several other innovative forums in retina. A direct offshoot of the Vail meeting was the Milwaukee Vitrectomy Course first held in 1975. This was a similar meeting run by Tom Aaberg, Robert Machemer, and Ron Michels, and it included the first-of-its-kind vitrectomy hands-on lab. The meeting rotated among Milwaukee, Miami, and Baltimore.

VAIL VITRECTOMY OVER THE YEARS

In the early days, there were no company biases or consultancies to be disclosed. Dr. Machemer, among others (including this author), was particularly sorry to see this change over the years. Regardless, Vail continues to be one of the most interesting and informative meetings in our field, with the newest information presented in a friendly, albeit busy, format. It has always been an exciting meeting with exchange of new ideas and passionate debates. And, of course, the back row continues to be reserved for injured skiers/retina specialists.

In 1996 Robert attended his last Vail meeting, and he and Relja Zivojnovic were honored for their many contributions to our specialty upon their retirement. Those of us who have known the men who founded Vail Vitrectomy have been fortunate to walk in the footsteps of these giants of our field. Some are still among us. Cherish and continue to learn from them. Honor them and say, “Thank you for leading the way.” We all have a few special people in our lives we strive to emulate. These men are among my few.

I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Tom Aaberg Jr., Christel Machemer, and Hank Edelhauser.

H. Michael Lambert, MD, FACS, is Chief Executive Officer of Retina and Vitreous of Texas in Houston, PLLC; Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Cornell/Methodist Hospital; and a Clinical Associate Professor at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and Baylor College of Medicine. He can be reached via email at mlambert@me.com.