Radial keratotomy (RK) is a refractive surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness). It was developed in 1974 by Svyatoslav Fyodorov, a Russian ophthalmologist. It has been largely supplanted by newer, more accurate operations, such as photorefractive keratectomy, LASIK, Epi-LASIK and the phakic intraocular lens.
Phacoemulsification is a cataract surgery method in which the internal lens of the eye which has developed a cataract is emulsified with the tip of an ultrasonic handpiece and aspirated from the eye. Aspirated fluids are replaced with irrigation of balanced salt solution to maintain the volume of the anterior chamber during the procedure. This procedure minimises the incision size and reduces the recovery time and risk of surgery induced astigmatism.
An Intraocular lens (IOL) is a lens implanted in the eye usually as part of a treatment for cataracts or for correcting other vision problems such as short sightedness and long sightedness, a form of refractive surgery. If the natural lens is left in the eye, the IOL is known as phakic, otherwise it is a pseudophakic lens. Both kinds of IOLs are designed to provide the same light-focusing function as the natural crystalline lens. This can be an alternative to LASIK, but LASIK is not an alternative to an IOL for treatment of cataracts.
Charles David Kelman was an American ophthalmologist, surgeon, inventor, jazz musician, entertainer, and Broadway producer. Known as the father of phacoemulsification, he developed many of the medical devices, instruments, implant lenses and techniques used in cataract surgery. In the early 1960s, he began the use of cryosurgery to remove cataracts and repair retinal detachments. Cryosurgery for cataracts remained in heavy use until 1978, when phacoemulsification, a procedure Kelman also developed in 1967, became the modern standard treatment. Kelman was given the National Medal of Technology by President George H. W. Bush and recognized as the Ophthalmologist of the Century by the International Congress of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in Montreal, Canada. He was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, and received the 2004 Lasker Award.
Cataract surgery, also called lens replacement surgery, is the removal of the natural lens of the eye that has developed a cataract, an opaque or cloudy area. The eye's natural lens is usually replaced with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL) implant.
Sir Nicholas Harold Lloyd Ridley was an English ophthalmologist who invented the intraocular lens and pioneered intraocular lens surgery for cataract patients.
Capsulorhexis or capsulorrhexis, and the commonly used technique known as continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (CCC), is a surgical technique used to remove the central anterior part of the capsule of the lens from the eye during cataract surgery by shear and tensile forces. It generally refers to removal of the central part of the anterior lens capsule, but in situations like a developmental cataract a part of the posterior capsule is also removed by a similar technique.
Gholam A. Peyman is an Iranian American ophthalmologist, retina surgeon, and inventor. He is best known for his invention of LASIK eye surgery, a vision correction procedure designed to allow people to see clearly without glasses. He was awarded the first US patent for the procedure in 1989.
The Trabectome is a surgical device that can be used for ab interno trabeculotomy, a minimally invasive glaucoma surgery for the surgical management of adult, juvenile, and infantile glaucoma. The trabecular meshwork is a major site of resistance to aqueous humor outflow. As angle surgeries such as Trabectome follow the physiologic outflow pathway, the risk of complications is significantly lower than filtering surgeries. Hypotony with damage to the macula, can occur with pressures below 5 mmHg, for instance, after traditional trabeculectomy, because of the episcleral venous pressure limit. The Trabectome handpiece is inserted into the anterior chamber, its tip positioned into Schlemm's canal, and advanced to the left and to the right. Different from cautery, the tip generates plasma to molecularize the trabecular meshwork and remove it drag-free and with minimal thermal effect. Active irrigation of the trabectome surgery system helps to keep the anterior chamber formed during the procedure and precludes the need for ophthalmic viscoelastic devices. Viscoelastic devices tend to trap debris or gas bubbles and diminish visualization. The Trabectome decreases the intra-ocular pressure typically to a mid-teen range and reduces the patient's requirement to take glaucoma eye drops and glaucoma medications. The theoretically lowest pressure that can be achieved is equal to 8 mmHg in the episcleral veins. This procedure is performed through a small incision and can be done on an outpatient basis.
Eric John Arnott, MA, FRCS, FRCOphth was a British ophthalmologist and surgeon who specialized in cataracts, a condition which in many parts of the world still remains the principal cause of blindness. He is known for inventing new surgical techniques for treatment of various ophthalmological disorders, and received professional awards for his contributions.
Capsulotomy is a type of eye surgery in which an incision is made into the capsule of the crystalline lens of the eye. In modern cataract operations, the lens capsule is usually not removed. The most common forms of cataract surgery remove nearly all of the crystalline lens but do not remove the crystalline lens capsule. The crystalline lens capsule is retained and used to contain and position the intraocular lens implant (IOL).
David J. Apple was an ophthalmic pathologist who conducted research on the pathology of intraocular lens complications as well as ophthalmic surgery in general. He was a medical historian and biographer of Sir Harold Ridley, the inventor of the intraocular lens (IOL).
He often stated that Harold Ridley changed the world. What we can say about David Apple is that he vastly improved the world that Harold Ridley changed
Raymond Mark Stein, MD, FRCSC, DABO, is a Canadian ophthalmologist. He practices refractive and cataract surgery. He is the medical director of the Bochner Eye Institute in Toronto, Ontario and Chief of Ophthalmology at the Scarborough General Hospital.
Dr Amar Agarwal M.S., FRCS, F.R.C.Ophth is an Indian ophthalmologist and chairman and managing director of Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital and Eye Research Centre in India, which includes 140+ eye hospitals. He is the recipient of the Best Doctor award of the State government from then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa on 15 August 2014. He is also the past President of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) and Secretary General of the Intraocular Implant and Refractive Society of India (IIRSI).
Intraocular lens scaffold, or IOL scaffold technique, is a surgical procedure in ophthalmology. In cases where the posterior lens capsule is ruptured and the cataract is present, an intraocular lens (IOL) can be inserted under the cataract. The IOL acts as a scaffold, and prevents the cataract pieces from falling to the back of the eye. The cataract can then be safely removed by emulsifying it with ultrasound and aspiration. This technique is called IOL scaffold, and was initiated by Amar Agarwal at Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital in Chennai, India.
Keiki R. Mehta, an Indian ophthalmologist, medical researcher and writer, is considered by many as the father of Phacoemulsification in India. He is the Chief Surgical and Medical Director at Mehta International Eye Institute, a Mumbai-based specialty eye hospital founded by him. He is known to be the first surgeon to perform a Radial keratotomy in India and is credited with the development of the first soft eye implant in the world, and the Keiki Mehta BP Valve Glaucoma Shunt, a medical implant used in the treatment of neovascular‚ congenital and uveitic glaucoma. He is a recipient of several honours including the Grand Honors Award of the National Eye Research Foundation, Chicago and the Triple Ribbon Award of the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to Medicine.
Burkhard Dick is a German ophthalmologist who has specialized in refractive and cataract surgery. With his many contributions to the scientific literature on this topic, he is considered one of the pioneers of employing the femtosecond laser in cataract surgery. In the "Power List 2023" ranking of the world's most influential ophthalmologists by the publication The Ophthalmologist, Burkhard Dick was listed among the Top 10.
Manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) is an evolution of extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE); the lens is removed from the eye through a self-sealing scleral tunnel wound. A well-constructed scleral tunnel is held closed by internal pressure, is watertight, and does not require suturing. The wound is relatively smaller than that in ECCE but is still markedly larger than a phacoemulsification wound. Comparative trials of MSICS against phaco in dense cataracts have found no statistically significant difference in outcomes but MSICS had shorter operating times and significantly lower costs. MSICS has become the method of choice in the developing world because it provides high-quality outcomes with less surgically induced astigmatism than ECCE, no suture-related problems, quick rehabilitation, and fewer post-operative visits. MSICS is easy and fast to learn for the surgeon, cost effective, simple, and applicable to almost all types of cataract.
Cataract surgery has a long history in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is one of the most common and successful surgical procedures in worldwide use, thanks to improvements in techniques for cataract removal and developments in intraocular lens (IOL) replacement technology, in implantation techniques, and in IOL design, construction, and selection. Surgical techniques that have contributed to this success include microsurgery, viscoelastics, and phacoemulsification.
