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How a jolt and a bolt in a dentist's chair revolutionized cataract surgery

Nature Medicine volume 10, pages 1032–1033 (2004)Cite this article

Cataracts occur when the clear crystalline lens of the eye becomes clouded, resulting in partial or complete loss of vision. Although cataracts result from many conditions (such as trauma, genetic diseases and diabetes), the most frequent cause is the natural aging process. More than one-half of the population older than 65 years develops impaired vision caused by cataracts. There are no diets, drugs or eyedrops that will make a cataract disappear; the only treatment is surgical removal. Historically, cataract surgery is one of the oldest operations, second only to circumcision.

Before Kelman—inpatient cataract surgery

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Figure 1
Figure 2: Rise in use of the phacoemulsification procedure for removal of cataracts in the United States from 1967 to 2003.

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  1. chair of the Lasker Awards Jury and is in the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Room L5.238, Dallas, 75390-9046, Texas, USA

    Joseph L Goldstein

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Goldstein, J. How a jolt and a bolt in a dentist's chair revolutionized cataract surgery. Nat Med 10, 1032–1033 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1004-1032

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