Cataract is one of the most common eye diseases and the first curable blindness in the world. Currently, the primary treatment remains surgery. Cataract surgery can be traced back to as early as 1,000 years ago, when needle dialysis was recorded in China, India and other countries to treat cataracts. In the past 200 years, cataract surgery techniques have been developed rapidly. Especially in recent decades, the application of microsurgery and IOL implantation technology is a qualitative leap forward in cataract surgery. The following is a brief introduction of various cataract surgery techniques in history.
1. Cataract needle plucking The suspensory ligament of the clouded lens is severed and dislodged into the vitreous cavity, and there are more postoperative complications. It is said that Chairman Mao’s cataract was operated in this way back then. It has been basically eliminated now.
2. Intracapsular cataract extraction is an operation to remove the cloudy lens completely. The surgical incision is larger, and it is usually used in cases where the lens is completely dislocated into the anterior chamber due to trauma or disease.
It is a milestone of modern microscopic cataract surgery. It is still the leading cataract surgery in many regions, and is generally used for over-aged or over-mature cataracts in developed regions.
4. Ultrasonic cataract aspiration is a surgical procedure that uses ultrasound energy to emulsify the nucleus and cortex of the clouded lens and then aspirate it, preserving the posterior capsule of the lens. This technique has developed rapidly since its introduction in the 1960s and is now the mainstream cataract surgery method in developed regions of China. Together with the application of folding IOL, it has the advantages of small specific incision, little damage and fast vision recovery.
5. Femtosecond laser cataract surgery It is a newly developed surgical technique that utilizes femtosecond laser-assisted cataract ultrasound emulsification. This surgery is expensive and the technology is under continuous development and innovation, and it will take time to promote it on a large scale.