Sight is the most important sense for humans, as we perceive 80% of all information about our surroundings through it.
Cataracts and refractive errors are the most common causes of damage to this sense. Procedures for removing cataracts have been known since ancient times. However, it was not until the second half of the 20th century that a fundamental breakthrough was made in both cataract and refractive surgery. In our country, it was only in the last decade of the 20th century that modern surgical procedures such as phacoemulsification, soft intraocular lenses, sutureless surgery, and lasers became widely available in everyday practice.
At the beginning of these turbulent changes was a group of enlightened ophthalmologists who gained experience abroad, introduced new technologies and procedures into practice, and popularized these methods among the wider ophthalmological community. It is thanks to them that cataract and refractive surgery in the Czech Republic is now at the highest level and fully comparable with the most advanced countries in the world. A quarter of a century ago, these surgeons founded a professional society – the Czech Society of Refractive and Cataract Surgery, whose main goal was (and still is) to educate colleagues in this field, share knowledge, and support young ophthalmic surgeons. For us, their students, it was an honor and a pleasure to watch our role models at work and learn from them. Our task (and the task of the entire CSRCS) is to continue their work, bring new knowledge and experience into practice, and popularize it among both professionals and the general public.
J. Barraquer, a Spanish ophthalmologist who performed the first refractive keratoplasty at the Centro de Oftalmologia Barraquer in Barcelona in 1949, is considered the founder of modern refractive surgery.
The beginning of the modern history of intraocular lens implantation can be traced back to 1950, when Sir Harold Ridley first implanted an IOL at St. Thomas‘ Hospital in London. Cataract surgeries were initially unsuccessful, but Ridley was persistent. He worked almost in secret and did not publish his results until several years later, when he was convinced, based on his experience, that he had chosen the right path. He encountered disagreement and mistrust from other ophthalmologists, which lasted for a long time. It was not until the end of his life that he received recognition.
In Czechoslovakia, the first IOL was implanted by Professor Jan Vanýsek in 1954 at the Faculty Hospital in Hradec Králové. Then, several decades later, Professor Milan Izák performed an implantation in 1979 in Banská Bystrica.
In Czechoslovakia, laser correction of dioptric defects was first performed by Associate Professor Zdeněk Smečka at the hospital in Zlín in 1991.
Surgeries evolved, results improved, and the number of complications decreased. At the same time as cataract surgeries, refractive surgeries also began to be performed in our country. At first, the number of people interested in refractive surgery rose rapidly, but after a while, the number of surgeries began to decline. The difference between refractive surgery and cataract surgery began to diminish.
P. Kuchynka and P. Mašek were the first to come up with the idea of founding the society. At the ESCRS congress in Paris in 1992, they approached E. Rosen, then president of the ESCRS. He confirmed that the ESCRS was very interested in establishing a Czech society of refractive and cataract surgery that would cooperate with the ESCRS. The inaugural meeting of the CSRCS took place on January 9, 1998, at the Schweiger Hotel in Prague.
Since its inception, the society has worked closely with the ESCRS. Its statutes were essentially the same as those of the ČLS J. E. Purkyně. In 2014, successful negotiations took place between the chairman of the CSRCS and the chairman of the CzMA J. E. Purkyně, Professor Blahoš, and our society became part of this prestigious Czech medical organization.
