Our eyes are among the hardest working organs of the body. We depend on them now more than ever as screens become a dominant part of our lifestyles. Unfortunately, almost half of all people suffer from some form of vision impairment. Until recently, these people had two choices, glasses or contact lenses until the introduction of laser treatments in eye care services.
Since then, over 40 million people around the world have been successfully treated with laser eye surgeries. The treatment turned the eyeglasses and contact lens industries on their head, completely changing the way millions of people around the world take care of their eyes.
What do laser eye surgeries do?
Most people with visual impairments have blurry vision, caused by faulty curvature and thickness of the cornea which forms a hazy, out-of-focus image on the retina. Laser eye surgeries reshape the cornea to correct this.
There are two main types of laser eye surgery. LASIK (laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis) and PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) are both used to treat myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The procedures only differ in terms of how the protective outer layer of the cornea is removed.
In LASIK, a thin flap is cut into the outer layer of the cornea and replaced post-surgery. In PRK, the entire front layer of the cornea is removed and discarded, and a new layer naturally grows back.
After removing the outer layer either temporarily or permanently, small bursts of ultraviolet light are fired at the eye, removing small amounts of tissue from the cornea. The amounts of tissue removed are usually microscopic. The corrected lens refracts light better onto the retina and vision becomes sharp, clear and focused.
LASIK has a much faster recovery time because the outer layer of the cornea does not need to grow back. This makes the procedure more popular and is suitable for most patients.
How did laser eye treatment start?
The roots of laser eye surgery can be traced back to the 1890s, when a Dutch ophthalmology teacher, Dr. Lendeer Jans Lans, theorized the possibility of correcting the corneal shape by making cuts in the cornea.
About 40 years later, Japanese army doctor Tsato experimented with this process on members of the Japanese air force, who needed near-perfect vision to fly, and had some short-lived success.
Over 20 years later, Columbian eye specialist Jos Barraquerr developed a corneal reshaping technique capable of correcting both near and far-sightedness. He would remove a layer of the cornea, reshape it, freeze it and implant it back into the patients eye. Though his process would be considered imprecise and rudimentary by 21st century standards, the lessons he learned about corneal defects and reshaping were profoundly important in developing the modern procedure.
Nearly a decade after Barraquerrs experiments, IBM researcher Rangaswamy Srinivasan discovered that industrial Excimer lasers worked extremely well on corneal tissue and left minimal heat damage. This was the breakthrough needed for laser treatments to take off and the procedure subsequently exploded in popularity following early successes. Excimer lasers continue to be the gold standard in eye surgeries today.
Final words
With millions of people having undergone laser surgery, a low complication rate and rapid advancements, laser eye care service is now more accessible than ever. For close to the cost of a high-end pair of eyeglasses, you could have your vision corrected and enjoy your life in full focus.