PMMA intraocular lens (Ridley)
Lente intraocular de PMMA (Ridley)
- Date
- 1949 · confidence high
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Harold Ridley
- Field
- Communication
What it is
An acrylic lens implanted in the eye after removal of a cataractous lens, replacing its optical function. Ridley devised it on seeing that Spitfire canopy fragments lodged in pilots' eyes did not cause rejection.
The first implant was on 29 November 1949 at St Thomas' Hospital, and its use became general in the 1980s after years of medical scepticism.
What it led to
- modern cataract surgery
- phacoemulsification and foldable implants
- low-cost intraocular lenses in poor countries