Despite the fame, however, Wheeler chose to reduce his private practice to spend more time teaching postgraduates. Ironically, he is said to have diagnosed himself with ocular melanoma based on a shadow he noticed while playing on the golf course which, when confirmed, ultimately necessitated the removal of his left eye. Nevertheless, over the next three years, he continued to serve as the director of the Institute of Ophthalmology, as well as a consultant to nearly a dozen other hospitals in the New York and New Jersey area until the time of his death in In addition, he was a prolific contributor to the field, as the editor of The Eye and Its Diseases and coauthor of six other well-known textbooks.