Hi!

Let’s continue with our laser eye surgery history lesson shall we. If you’ll recall we left off after introducing The Excimer Laser. So we’ll continue with PRK, LASEK and LASIK…

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)
and Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy (LASEK)

PRK and LASEK are also important milestone in the history of laser eye surgery. The first PRK surgery was held in 1988 in Germany. These procedures use the Excimer laser to permanently change the shape of the cornea by ablating (disintigrating) a very small about of tissue from the cornea. Although these surgeries are quite effective their recover time is longer and people experience quite a bit of discomfort, which led to the discovery of…

Laser Assisted In-situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)

The LASIK technique was made possible by Dr Jose Barraquer (Colombia), who around 1960 developed the first microkeratome, used to cut thin flaps in the cornea and alter its shape, in a procedure called keratomileusis. This procedure was developed and pioneered by the world leading Barraquer Clinic, based in Bogota, Colombia.

LASIK surgery was developed in 1990 by Dr. Lucio Buratto (Italy) and Dr. Ioannis Pallikaris (Greece) as a melding of two prior techniques, keratomileusis and photorefractive keratectomy. It quickly became popular because of its greater precision and lower frequency of complications in comparison with these former two techniques.

In 1991, LASIK was performed for the first time in the United States by Drs. Stephen Brint and Stephen Slade. The same year, Drs. Thomas and Tobias Neuhann successfully treated the first German LASIK patients with an automated microkeratome.

In 1996, the FDA approved the laser treatment for myopia up to -6.00 diopters and in 1997; this procedure was approved for treating astigmatism up to -4.00 diopters. Surgeons have been performing LASIK for almost 20 years now.

Recent progress in the history of laser eye surgery includes advanced procedures to overcome the risks associated with laser treatment. Current technologies such as IntraLense use an extra laser instead of a blade and provide better safety and faster recovery. Other techniques allow an advanced level of accuracy and predictability, increasing the chance for a successful procedure.

Hope this little history lesson was helpful!
Mark