It took a lot of different people to help develop the Lasik eye surgery that we have today. One of these people was Jose Barraquer who was a Spanish ophthalmologist who had a clinic in Bogata, Colombia. Barraquer discovered the LASIK technique for eye surgery. In 1950 he developed the microkeratome which is used to alter the shape of the cornea by cutting thin flaps in the cornea. Barraquer also figured out how much of the cornea needed to remain so that the effects of Lasik eye surgery would provide long-term results.

Nikolai Basov developed the first excimer laser in 1970. Improvements were made on this laser later. At the University of California Northrup Corporation Research and Technology Center there was a group of scientists that worked together to develop the Excimer laser. Dr. Mani Lal Bhaumik announced his discovery of the carbon-dioxide laser in May 1973.

The very first patent for LASIK eye surgery was granted to Gholam A Peyman MD by the US Patent Office. The patent was given on the 20th of June in 1989.

What a person needs to do before they get Lasik

When a person who wears contacts is planning to get Lasik eye surgery they are usually told to discontinue wearing their contacts about five to 21 days before their surgery. The patients corneas are also examined before the surgery to see how thick they are. To do this a pachymeter is used. Then a topographer is used to measure the surface contour of the cornea. The topographer makes a topographic map that can detect the astigmatism as well as other irregularities that the cornea has. With this information the Lasik eye surgeon can calculate the location and amounts of the cornea tissue that needs to be removed.

During the surgery

During the surgery a person can be awake but they will usually need to have some anesthetic eye drops as well as a sedative.

The actual Lasik eye surgery is performed in three different steps. For the first step the surgeon will create a flap of the corneal tissue. Then for the second step the surgeon remodels the cornea that is underneath the flap. This part is done with the laser. The third step is when the flap of corneal tissue is repositioned.

Step one

To create the flap a suction ring is put on the eye; this holds the eye in place. When the eye is positioned and won't move the flap can then be created. Because of the suction technique, some patients experience bleeding in the white of their eye. This side effect is harmless but may take several weeks to go away.

To make the flap, the surgeon uses a process called mechanical microkeratome. This uses a metal blade or a femtosecond laser microkeratome (IntraLasik) which makes several tiny bubbles in the cornea. The surgeon leaves a hinge at one end of the flap in the cornea and the flap is folded back. When the flap in the cornea is folded back the stroma-or the middle section of the cornea-is revealed.

Step two

During the second step of Lasik, the excimer laser is used in the remodeling of the corneal stroma. This laser vaporizes the tissue and does not damage the stroma. The tissues are thinly removed. During this part of Lasik surgery the patient will not be able to see more than just a white light that is around the laser.

Step three

Step three is when the surgeon reshapes the stromal layer of the eye. The flap is put back into place and the surgeon checks for air bubbles, any debris, and makes sure that the flap fits back on the eye correctly.