Developments in cataract surgery: past, present and future

Another mention of what could be a cataract operation figures in the Bible, in the Book of Tobit (around 600 B.C.). Following instructions from the archangel Raphaël, Tobias applies the gall of a fish to his father’s blind eyes, «He applied the remedy which irritated his eyes. And he rubbed the corner of his eyes with both hands. Then he saw his son, threw his arms around his neck and wept as he said «I can see you, my son, light of my eyes» (Tobit 11 12-14). This description can be considered a selfinduced cataract couching through vigorous rubbing, which overcame the resistance of a weak zonula (a frequent phenomenon in cases of mature cataracts), making the crystalline lens luxate into the vitreous cavity, thus liberating the visual axis [2].