The History of Laser Eye Surgery
Laser eye surgery is one of the most valuable medical developments of our lifetime. It has given ophthalmologists a tool to improve sight and in most cases eliminate the need for glasses for good.
Since the new technique was perfected in the late 1980s it has transformed thousands of lives and continues to grow in popularity. This highly specialised procedure allows surgeons to reshape the eye’s cornea correcting the faults that cause blurring of vision. The treatment can be used to correct both Myopia (nearsightedness) and Hyperopia (farsightedness) so the days when thick glasses or contact lenses were the only option to see clearly are gone.
The idea of laser eye surgery has been around since the 1950s and was the result of several different doctors who all played a part in the advance of the procedure. The technique was initially the innovation of Jose Barraquer, a Spanish ophthalmologist who first came up with the idea of cutting into the eye’s cornea to alter its shape.
Twenty years on, the radial keratotomy procedure was developed by the Russian doctor, Svyatoslav Fyodorov, who stumbled upon the important finding when he was treating a boy who had fallen and cut his eye on his glasses. Fyodorov discovered that by shaving off the front layer of the eye the young boy had recovered with better sight than before.
The development of the Excimer laser by a group of scientists from the University of California turned the eye surgery dream into a reality and, because of the inventiveness and dedication of these doctors, the first pioneering surgery was performed in 1989 in Greece. Since then the operation has become a common procedure performed around the globe.
Further developments to the procedure have resulted in two main types of laser eye surgery. Photorefractive Keratectomy, commonly known as PRK, a procedure carried out on the surface of the eye, and LASIK surgery, which differs because of the incision made to the surface of the eye and the laser treatment that is applied to the corneal tissue beneath.
Because of the delicate nature of an eye the operation needs to be performed with great care and, although the technology sounds complicated, in the hands of a qualified practitioner it is a relatively straightforward one. In general, the operation takes around 30 minutes although the actual laser treatment can take as little as a minute.
The technology and development of laser eye surgery has resulted in a simple painless procedure with a very quick recovery time. Today the surgery boasts a 95% success rate with most patients enjoying full 20/20 vision which is a testament to the brilliance of the doctors who invented the ground breaking operation.
Adam Singleton writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
