่Fifty-five years ago, Professor Dr. Jose I. Barraquer of Bogata, Colombia invented the technique called Keratomileusis. He learned to separate the superficial corneal surface with an innovative, yet delicate instrument called microkeratome, by removing a small piece of cornea, refining it with a lathe, and then suturing it back into place. This led to the beginning of the corneal refractive surgery era.  Professor Dr. Barraquer is called the father of modern refractive surgery.

Forty years after the first trial of Dr. Barraquer’s procedure, Dr. Trokel used the excimer laser directly on the outermost layers of cornea to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, which is now called PRK. (Photo Refractive Keratectomy) (The excimer laser is in the ultraviolet wavelength of 193 nanometers).  This procedure is very popular, but its limitation is the unpredictability in higher ranges of refractive error and higher risk of corneal haze after surgery. In 1990 Dr. Buratto and Dr. Ionnis Pallikaris of Greece adapted and combined these two techniques, creating the basic concept of LASIK, which are highly precise and have few, if any, complications. Therefore, LASIK is very popular nowadays.