History of Lasik

Lasik is a vision correction procedure. It is done on eyes that have conditions of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. During the surgery, the cornea of the eye is reshaped to correct the refractive error that occurs under these conditions. While the surgery is a relatively new technique, it has roots that begin centuries ago.

After many eye surgical advancements in the early 1800s, the first technique that could correct the refractive errors in eyes was developed. The credit for this technique is given to Dr. Jose Ignacio Barraquer, MD. This technique was known as keratomileusis. During this surgical procedure, he would remove the corneal tissue of the eye completely. He would then freeze it, reshape it, thaw it out and sew it back on to the patient's eye. Many ophthalmologists and physicians improved upon Barraquer's technique by later discovering that the corneal healed on its own. This eliminated the need for stitches.

The discovery of a better and faster way of reshaping the corneal tissue with the assistance of an excimer laser made the surgery resemble the modern form of lasik surgery. The excimer laser was not created for eye surgery purposes, but for use with computer chips. Through experimentation, ophthalmologists found that the laser was a great tool to perfect the reshaping of the eye's corneal tissue. The cold laser would make the cuts to the tissue with better precision than a blade. Lasik surgery was born from this development, and continues to be a very helpful procedure today.