The Origins of Cataract Surgery
First successful cataract extraction took place in 1747
Howard Larkin
Published: Thursday, September 19, 2019
[caption id="attachment_16769" align="alignleft" width="1024"]
David Spalton delivering the 2019 ESCRS Heritage Lecture[/caption]
“If a physician … open a tumour (over the eye) with an operating knife, and saves the eye, he shall receive ten shekels…”
– Code of Hammurabi, Mesopotamia, 1750 BCE.
References to cataracts and ocular surgery date back to antiquity, and couching cataracts – pushing the lens out of the capsular bag to restore light perception – has been practiced the world over. But breakthroughs in understanding the anatomy and physiology of sight in the 16th and 17th Centuries paved the way for Jaques Daviel to perform his first successful cataract extraction in 1747, said David Spalton FRCS, FRCP, FRCOphth at the ESCRS Heritage Lecture 2019 “The Origins of Cataract Surgery”.
Using instruments remarkably similar to today’s, by 1756 Daviel reported 434 extractions with 88% successful, a marked improvement over couching, Dr Spalton said. Refinements accelerated through the 19th Century, with development of foundational surgical techniques by Albrecht von Graefe, and anaesthesia. Invention of the intraocular lens by Sir Harold Ridley and phacoemulsification by Charles Kelman MD were the other two key developments that made cataract surgery the most widely performed and highly successful procedure it is today.
“Many surgeons have made great contributions, but Daviel was the first of the four great pioneering surgeons,” Dr Spalton concluded.
David Spalton delivering the 2019 ESCRS Heritage Lecture[/caption]
“If a physician … open a tumour (over the eye) with an operating knife, and saves the eye, he shall receive ten shekels…”
– Code of Hammurabi, Mesopotamia, 1750 BCE.
References to cataracts and ocular surgery date back to antiquity, and couching cataracts – pushing the lens out of the capsular bag to restore light perception – has been practiced the world over. But breakthroughs in understanding the anatomy and physiology of sight in the 16th and 17th Centuries paved the way for Jaques Daviel to perform his first successful cataract extraction in 1747, said David Spalton FRCS, FRCP, FRCOphth at the ESCRS Heritage Lecture 2019 “The Origins of Cataract Surgery”.
Using instruments remarkably similar to today’s, by 1756 Daviel reported 434 extractions with 88% successful, a marked improvement over couching, Dr Spalton said. Refinements accelerated through the 19th Century, with development of foundational surgical techniques by Albrecht von Graefe, and anaesthesia. Invention of the intraocular lens by Sir Harold Ridley and phacoemulsification by Charles Kelman MD were the other two key developments that made cataract surgery the most widely performed and highly successful procedure it is today.
“Many surgeons have made great contributions, but Daviel was the first of the four great pioneering surgeons,” Dr Spalton concluded.
Tags: heritage lecture
Latest Articles
Beyond the Numbers
Empowering patient participation fosters continuous innovation in cataract surgery.
Thinking Beyond the Surgery Room
Practice management workshop focuses on financial operations and AI business applications.
Picture This: Photo Contest Winners
ESCRS 2025 Refractive and Cataract Photo Contest winners.
Aid Cuts Threaten Global Eye Care Progress
USAID closure leads retreat in development assistance.
Supplement: ESCRS Clinical Trends Series: Presbyopia
Nutrition and the Eye: A Recipe for Success
A look at the evidence for tasty ways of lowering risks and improving ocular health.
New Award to Encourage Research into Sustainable Practices
Sharing a Vision for the Future
ESCRS leaders update Trieste conference on ESCRS initiatives.
Extending Depth of Satisfaction
The ESCRS Eye Journal Club discuss a new study reviewing the causes and management of dissatisfaction after implantation of an EDOF IOL.
Conventional Versus Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery
Evidence favours conventional technique in most cases.