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My New Eyes: Thanks to Patricia Bath

By Shlomo Maital  

Dr. Patricia Bath

   On December 22 and again on January 19, I got new eyes.

    A skilled surgeon removed the clouded lenses in my eyes, and replaced them with new plastic ones.  The anasthesia was local, so I watched the whole thing in real time. It was fascinating.

     A little laser robot carefully approached my eye, made a tiny incision in the cornea (the cells of the cornea are unique, they are made to grow back quickly, in case the cornea is scratched or damaged – a gift from evolution) and inserted a small collapsed lens, which then unfolds.  The laser robot is very precise and rarely, very rarely, errs.

      Later, I learned whom to thank – apart from the brilliant and experienced surgeon, Dr. Avi A.   Thank you, Dr. Patricia Bath, a pioneering African-American ophthalmologist, surgeon, and inventor.  Here is her story, from Wikipedia:

             “In 1986, Bath conducted research in the laboratory of Danièle Aron-Rosa, a pioneer researcher in lasers and ophthalmology at Rothschild Eye Institute of Paris and then at the Laser Medical Center in Berlin, where she was able to begin early studies in laser cataract surgery, including her first experiment with excimer laser photoablation using human eye bank eyes.   Bath coined the term “laser phaco” for the process, short for laser photo-ablative cataract surgery and developed the laser phaco probe, a medical device that improves on the use of lasers to remove cataracts, and “for ablating and removing cataract lenses”. Bath first had the idea for this type of device in 1981, but did not apply for a patent until several years later. The device was completed in 1986 after Bath conducted research on lasers in Berlin and patented in 1988, making her the first African-American woman to receive a patent for a medical purpose.”

        I need not recount the many many ceilings Dr. Bath had to break through, to achieve success. 

           Wish I could thank her in person. And so do millions of people.  Cataract surgery is the most routinely performed surgical procedure of all, with 7 million surgeries performed per year in Europe, 3.7 million in the United States, and 20 million worldwide.    Since its first introduction,  phacoemulsification cataract surgery (PCS) has become the standard of care, mainly done by laser.

          If you are elderly and your vision is becoming poor, see an ophthalmologist – and if cataract surgery is recommended, don’t be afraid.  In many cases, it is life changing. In order for our brains to continue to function well, we need good vision.  20 million people worldwide testify to this.  That little robot laser is really really good at what it does.

      I wish this expensive device could be provided widely to poor countries.  One study in northern India showed that between 53% and 60% of those with cataracts are untreated.