Cataract Surgery in the Modern Era

In 1748, Jacques Daviel of Paris introduced a type of cataract surgery where the cataract is actually extracted from the eye. This was a form of extracapsular surgery in which the inner lens contents were removed, but a portion of the lens capsule or outer covering and the zonules that attached it, were left in place. Five years later, Samuel Sharp of London introduced the concept of cataract surgery by using pressure with his thumb to remove the entire lens intact through an incision. By 1902 small suction cups and other various capsular forceps were invented to grasp the lens for removal.

It was not until the late 1840s that general anesthesia was introduced for surgical procedures. By 1884, anesthesia in the form of eye drops (cocaine) was developed. Previously, the services of a strong assistant were required to hold the patient’s head still while surgery was performed.