New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai history

On April 21, 1821, the first bylaws and rules and regulations were drawn up, and a Board of Directors, called "The Society of the New York Eye Infirmary," was formed.

On March 22, 1822, the New York State Legislature formally recognizes the incorporation of the New York Eye Infirmary.

An Act of the New York State Legislature officially changes the name of The New York Eye Infirmary to The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, in formal recognition of its Otology Service, first established in 1824.

Doctor William T. G. Morton (who first publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic in 1846) sues New York Eye Infirmary for patent infringement and loses.

Although NYEE treated ear conditions since its inception, the otology department received official recognition in 1864 by an act of the state legislature and the name was legally changed to The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.

NYEE physicians help found The New York Laryngological Society, the first of its kind in the United States and a precursor to the American Laryngological Society, established in 1878.

Although teaching had been conducted at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary from the very beginning, the School of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, chartered by the State Legislature, was officially founded in 1890.

In 1904, NYEE’s first X-ray Department is established by Doctor Weeks with the purchase of the Infirmary’s first X-ray equipment.

NYEE's Department of Research is created by Doctor Conrad Berens, NYEE resident class of 1915.

Doctor Algernon B. Reese, NYEE resident class of 1925, contributes to the field of ocular oncology, including the recognition, classification, diagnosis, and treatment of retinoblastoma, research into retrolental fibroplasia, and classifications of ocular melanomas.

Eventually, he establishes the Department of Ophthalmology at Washington University in 1928.

In 1947 he establishes the Department of Ocular Pathology, more recently known as the Algernon Reese Pathology Laboratory, at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

In 1958, Doctor Aran Safir, during his NYEE residency, invents an early electronic retinoscope.

The NYEE Retina Diagnostic Center, incorporating retinal photography and fluorescein angiography, is established by Doctor Thomas O. Muldoon, NYEE resident class of 1966.

NYEE expanded its footprint in 1968, with the opening of the North Building on East 14th Street and Second Avenue.

In 1974, a new building to house Residents expanded the campus at 321 East 13th Street.

Ronald Gentile, MD, class of 1995, developed the cystoid dehydration of macular holes concept, which resulted in a new approach to treating macular holes using eye drops.

Barts and The London Chronicle - Autumn/Winter 2009