The History of Cataract Surgery

Each year, cataract surgery enables millions of people to improve their vision. It is one of the most frequently performed and successful operations in the world today. Although cataract surgery has been performed since ancient times, the last half-century has seen remarkable refinements of the procedure

The word cataract comes from the Greek meaning waterfall. Until the mid 1700s, it was thought that a cataract was formed by opaque material flowing, like a waterfall, into the eye. We now know that the clouding of the normally transparent crystalline lens within the eye, suspended in place by thousands of strands called zonules, is a result of aging, metabolic changes, injury, radiation, toxic chemicals or drugs.

Cataract Surgery in Antiquity
Cataract Surgery in the Modern Era
Cataract Surgery in the 20th and 21st Century

Special thanks for this exhibit go to George Garcia, MD.