Although it may seem like a relatively new technique, the history of laser eye surgery dates back to the early 20th century.
The techniques and medical knowledge may not have been as advanced during this period, but doctors in Japan were already beginning to see its huge potential by the early 1930s.
During the 1930s Japanese doctors pioneered a few tests; however, the work was not very successful and left many patients with corneal decompensation later on in life.
While the initial work was not very successful, it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of scientists researching the potential medical procedure.
Scientists would continue to improve their techniques and understanding of laser eye surgery for many years to come.
But it wasn't until the 1970s that the first practical application of the treatments was to occur.
During this period Dr Fyodorov - the famous Ryssian ophthalmologist - was treating a boy who was involved in an unfortunate accident, causing severe damage to his eye.
Thankfully the damage to the eye was minimal and the incident even managed to improve the boy's vision; prior to the accident the boy had been very nearsighted.
Dr Fyodorov was fascinated by the incident and took it upon himself to research the topic further.
Dr Fyodorov published the incident and many papers afterwards, but the event did not have a huge impact on the medical world, and largely went unnoticed for several years.
It wasn't until 1978 when two American scientists, intrigued by the Russian ophthalmologist's findings, went over to Russia to find out more about the discovery.
After their visit the technology received the funding and research that was necessary to make it successful as a medical procedure.
Although these procedures were carried out prior to the discovery, traditional surgical tools were used, making the procedures both dangerous and inaccurate.
Thanks to the introduction of laser technologies, the success rate was greatly improved and the practice became more widespread across the world.
The technology was now slowly gaining acceptance around the world.
However, it wasn't until the commercial potential was seen by doctors and businessmen that the laser eye surgery technology spread rapidly across the western world.
Having been performed now for nearly two decades the technology is still in its infancy.
That said, the treatment has been performed on a huge proportion of people and boasts extremely high safety and success rates.
Laser eye surgery has improved the lives of many people around the world, and the numbers of people choosing to undergo this treatment increases every year.
With more and more doctors becoming familiar with the practice this number is only likely to increase, as the technology becomes more popular around the world.
The techniques and medical knowledge may not have been as advanced during this period, but doctors in Japan were already beginning to see its huge potential by the early 1930s.
During the 1930s Japanese doctors pioneered a few tests; however, the work was not very successful and left many patients with corneal decompensation later on in life.
While the initial work was not very successful, it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of scientists researching the potential medical procedure.
Scientists would continue to improve their techniques and understanding of laser eye surgery for many years to come.
But it wasn't until the 1970s that the first practical application of the treatments was to occur.
During this period Dr Fyodorov - the famous Ryssian ophthalmologist - was treating a boy who was involved in an unfortunate accident, causing severe damage to his eye.
Thankfully the damage to the eye was minimal and the incident even managed to improve the boy's vision; prior to the accident the boy had been very nearsighted.
Dr Fyodorov was fascinated by the incident and took it upon himself to research the topic further.
Dr Fyodorov published the incident and many papers afterwards, but the event did not have a huge impact on the medical world, and largely went unnoticed for several years.
It wasn't until 1978 when two American scientists, intrigued by the Russian ophthalmologist's findings, went over to Russia to find out more about the discovery.
After their visit the technology received the funding and research that was necessary to make it successful as a medical procedure.
Although these procedures were carried out prior to the discovery, traditional surgical tools were used, making the procedures both dangerous and inaccurate.
Thanks to the introduction of laser technologies, the success rate was greatly improved and the practice became more widespread across the world.
The technology was now slowly gaining acceptance around the world.
However, it wasn't until the commercial potential was seen by doctors and businessmen that the laser eye surgery technology spread rapidly across the western world.
Having been performed now for nearly two decades the technology is still in its infancy.
That said, the treatment has been performed on a huge proportion of people and boasts extremely high safety and success rates.
Laser eye surgery has improved the lives of many people around the world, and the numbers of people choosing to undergo this treatment increases every year.
With more and more doctors becoming familiar with the practice this number is only likely to increase, as the technology becomes more popular around the world.
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