Eyeworld Supplements

LEADING A REVOLUTION 12 | SUPPLEMENT TO EYEWORLD C ataract surgery is one of the most common and successful elective surger- ies in the world, rehabilitating sight for millions of people a year. But this wasn't always the case. Innovation, perseverance, and the thick skin of a group of four bold ophthalmologists who formed what is today the American Society of Cataract and Refrac- tive Surgery (ASCRS) forever changed the landscape of cataract surgery and paved the way for advancement in all areas of anterior segment surgery. "ere are certain conditions that enable revolution to happen, and I think ASCRS was integral in that by bringing everyone together," said Samuel Masket, MD, 2006–2007 ASCRS President. Innovation met with repudiation Setting the scene Fiy years ago, patients waited until cataracts were vi- sion debilitating before committing to surgery. Aer surgery, which for most patients required a multiday hospital stay (laying supine with their heads sandbagged so as not to move), patients were sent home with a pair of "Coke bottle" glasses, lenses so heavy and thick that they could cause optical aberrations, or uncomfortable, hard contact lenses that many patients, at their age, could not reasonably manage. "You can't imagine what life was like for the cataract patient pre-intraocular lenses," Dr. Masket said, noting that cataract patients' sight was incapacitated for up to 2 months aer surgery. "I think it's hard for people to appreciate what life was like for the surgeon and the pa- tient." e atmosphere in ophthalmolog y in 1974 for intra- ocular lenses, which could eliminate the need for such thick spectacles, was hostile. When Sir Harold Ridley, Kt, MD, FRCS, who implanted the first intraocular lens in 1949, spoke about this innovative option at medical meetings among his peers, he was publicly berated on stage, said Kenneth J. Hoffer, MD, 1974–1975 ASCRS President and founder. "Few wanted to get up and talk about lens implants aer that," Dr. Hoffer said, nor would any reputable peer-reviewed journal publish on the topic. " ere are certain conditions that enable revolution to happen, and I think ASCRS was integral in that by bringing everyone together." —SAMUEL MASKET, MD Alan Crandall, MD (le), and Dr. Masket (right) Source: ASCRS Dr. Hoffer (le) and Dr. Ridley (right) in the U.K. in 1999. Source: Kenneth J. Hoffer, MD

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