To correct someone’s vision, first you have to understand the eye’s structure and how it works. Although many people have contributed to our understanding, two in particular stand out: Leonardo da Vinci (1452 to 1519) and Johannes Evangelista Purkinje (1787 to 1869).
Christoph Scheiner (about 1573 to 1650) is another standout who described corneal curvature. As a result of his work, several people between 1796 and 1881 were able to develop a tool that measures the cornea, called the keratometer. In 1932, Bausch and Lomb created an easier-to-use version of the keratometer.
Getting Ready to Operate
Albrecht von Graefe (1828 to 1870) was an ophthalmologist who pioneered cataract surgery in the 1850s. Use of eye-drop anesthesia for cataract surgery began after the Civil War.
Initially, opthalmologists were interested in reshaping the cornea to correct astigmatism. Hermann Snellen wrote surgical principles and Leendert Jan Lans systematically developed an understanding of surgical cuts on a cornea (keratotomy).
Surgeries to correct astigmatism were performed by the late 1800s. Between 1885 and 1939, many doctors were trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t when it came to refractive procedures. Doctors even experimented unsuccessfully with nonsurgical techniques such as hitting the cornea indirectly with a mallet or flattening it with a rubber band.
The Beginning of Modern Refractive Surgery
Tsutomu Sato began radial keratotomy in 1939, building on Leendert Jan Lans’s keratotomy work. Harold Ridley experimented with plastic lens implants, and in 1948, José Barraquer learned to alter the shape of the cornea. In the 1960s, Svyatoslav Fyodorov also began working on radial keratotomy. A handful of Russian scientists continued their research into the mid 1970s; by 1978, work began in the U.S. In 1980, the National Institutes of Health sponsored a study of radial keratotomy that lasted 15 years and cost more than $20 million.
The Excimer Laser
The first application combining laser technology and refractive surgery took place in 1980. The FDA has approved the following techniques: Excimer laser (1995); LASIK surgery (1999); use of LASIK as a means to correct farsightedness (2000); custom correction (called Wavefront) (2002); use of IntraLase to create a corneal flap (2002).
As doctors research, experiment, and do some creative thinking, they are adding new ideas and techniques that will continue to improve refractive surgery.
For additional information on
LASIK laser vision correction as well as
CustomVue WaveFront LASIK and
LASIK laser eye surgery in Long Island, it is important to speak with skilled surgeons about your options.
