Cataract Surgery

The earliest records of cataract surgery are from the Bible as well as early Hindu records. Cataract surgery was known to the Indian physician Sushruta, 6th century BC. In India, cataract surgery was performed with a special tool called the Jabamukhi Salaka, a curved needle used to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision. The eye would later be soaked with warm butter and then bandaged. Though this method was successful, Susruta cautioned that cataract surgery should only be performed when absolutely necessary.