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The Evolution of LASIK Surgery

ryan-frank | Oct 27, 2009 |

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Lasik eye surgery is one of the most well known ophthalmological procedures today. But it wasn't very long ago that it was viewed as a brand new and revolutionary technology. It completely changed the direction of the field, providing never-before seen levels of success and precision.

The acronym LASIK stands for laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis, and it's development involved a series of gradual technological advances. The first, and one of the most important ones, was the invention of the microkeratome blade. It was invented by a Spanish ophthalmologist named Jose Barraquer in the 1950s. The microkeratome is a surgical instrument that has an ultra-fine oscillating blade that's used to cut a thin flap that opens up the patient's cornea so that it can be operated on. In the decades that followed, the microkeratome blade would play an important role in the creation of the now famous Lasik eye surgery procedure.

Introduction of the Laser

Doctors recognized the potential for laser use in ophthalmological procedures as soon as the first working laser was invented in 1960. Soon after that first successful testing of a working laser, researchers began developing ever-more precise and powerful lasers. The Excimer laser, which was invented in the 1970s, proved to be one of the most significant in the field of ophthalmology.

Unlike other lasers, the Excimer ultraviolet laser did not use thermal energy to make incisions. Rather, it delivered enough energy to the targeted tissue to actually break apart the molecular bonds holding the tissue together, thus causing it to literally disintegrate into the air, without burning through it or causing any kind of thermal damage to the surrounding tissue. This allowed doctors to perform more precise and much safer eye surgeries.

Dr. Ioannis Pallikaris was the first to introduce the idea of using the microkeratome blade invented by Barraquer in the 1950s in conjunction with the Excimer ultraviolet laser to perform eye surgery. The microkeratome was used to cut the initial flap to access the cornea, and the Excimer laser was used to conduct the actual re-shaping of the corneal. Dr. Pallikaris performed the first Lasik surgery in 1989.

The Lasik eye surgery procedure quickly became one of the most popular ophthalmological procedures on the market. This was due the fact that it provided a higher rate of success in addition to less discomfort and a shorter recovery time.

LASIK Surgery Today

Since the late 1980s, lasers have only become more precise and more complex. New technologies like the ND YAG laser applications are making it so that the metal microkeratome blade is being done away with altogether. A laser blade is used instead. This all-laser surgery results in less discomfort and less irritation and post-surgery complications.