In 1948, Spanish ophthalmologist Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner created a new procedure that would help fix blurry vision. He called this procedure keratomileusis, taken from the Greek words “carving” and “cornea”. Keratomileusis corrects imperfections in the way the eye focuses light onto the retina due to the shape of the eye. These imperfections are known as “refractive errors.” Glasses and contact lenses work to bend the light to help correct these refractive errors, but thanks to Barraquer’s initial procedure, and modern technology, the shape of the eye can be altered in a more permanent and less invasive way: through laser eye surgery. First, an eye surgeon has to separate a thin layer from the front of the eye, called the cornea, with a special laser. Next, the eye surgeon has to lift the flap to expose the inside of the cornea. Guided by the refractive errors and shape of the cornea, the surgeon uses a laser to sculpt the exposed corneal bed into the correct shape. This is a very quick process that lasts about 30 seconds for each eye. Finally, the eye surgeon closes the flap and the eye begins to heal. We know this procedure today as LASIK surgery. Another technique called SMILE enables eye surgeons to shape the cornea with even smaller incisions, further reducing the recovery time. Advances in laser technology are continually improving. Who knows: maybe one day, we may live in a world where no one will need to wear glasses.
