History and development of Laser eye surgery

Posted in Laser Eye Surgery on January 12, 2010

Laser eye surgery has proved to be one of the most valuable inventions of this century, coming to the aid of thousands of people suffering from various visual impairments. They can now enjoy prefect sight thanks to the developments in the field of laser eye surgery.

Origin of Lasik

The origin of laser eye surgery can be traced back to the late 1980s. Since then it has helped people all over the world. This laser eye surgery procedure enables the surgeons to reshape the cornea. Surgeons then correct the flaws that cause the blurring of vision. The treatment is used to correct both myopia and hyperopia.

However, the idea of laser eye surgery has been in existence since the 1950s. The continuous efforts of several surgeons finally bore fruit in the 80s. Jose Barraquer is accredited as the inventor of this particular surgery procedure. Jose first came up with the idea of shaping the eyes cornea to treat vision related problems. Twenty years later the radial keratotomy was further developed by a Russian doctor, Svyatoslav Fyodorov.

The development of the Excimer laser revolutionised the field of Laser eye surgery. A group of scientists from the University of California invented this particular surgery method. The first ever laser eye surgery operation was performed in the year 1989.

Since then Laser eye surgery has been a commonly used surgery method to treat vision deficiencies. Statistics suggest a 95 percent success rate with no side effects.