5 Indians featuring on the Ophthalmology world map:

On India's 71st Republic day, Remembering 5 of the many Indians who made a great impact to the Ophthalmology world.

1.   Srinivasan Rangaswamy (b. 1929)

                       Not an Ophthalmologist, but a Laser Scientist with a monumental contribution to modern Refractive Surgery. For thirty years he was at IBM Labs where he investigated the action of ultraviolet photons on molecules- This was then used to etch Computer Chips. Srinivasan named the technique Ablative Photodecomposition (APD)

                         Along with Steve Trokel, he discovered how the Cornea could be reshaped using the Excimer Laser by APD This laid the very foundation for Photo Therapeutic Keratectomy (PTK), Photo Refractive Keratectomy (PRK) and LASIK.

                         Apart from Hundreds of published Research papers, he currently owns about 22 US patents.

                         In 2012, He was awarded with what is known as the ‘American Nobel’- National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Barrack Obama.

2.   Susruta (600 BC)

                             In around 600 BC, he was the first surgeon to describe cataract surgery and he lucidly documented it in his Compendium – “Susrut Samhita” His work was not limited to the eye, but encompassed almost every anatomical part of the human body – Plastic surgery, Rhinoplasty, Dental Extractions, Caesarian Sections, Hernia surgery, Fracture management...... list goes on

                        The Susrut Samhita was translated into Arabic in the 8th Century AD and was named ‘Kitab-i-Susrud’ by Abillasiabill, Interestingly, there is no record of Cataract Surgery in Greek or Roman medicine. Roman writers Celsus and Galen indicated that Cataract Surgery was practiced in Alexandrian school because Susruts teaching reached Alexandria during the Indian expedition of Alexander the great.

                    Susruta was hailed as the greatest surgeon of the medieval times.

3.   Gullapalli Nageswara Rao (b. 1945)

                                        Born in Hyderabad, he founded the prestigious L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in his birthplace. He held many prestigious positions - The chairman of the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (AOI), President of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, to name just a couple of them. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame instituted by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

                                       Known for his pioneering work on the Cornea, He coined the term polymegethism to describe size variation in the endothelial monolayer 1979. This is one of the most important determinants of Corneal Health and is widely used today.

4.   Govindappa Venkataswamy (b. 1918 d.2006)

                                    Founder director of the Aravind Eye Care System, Dr V (as he was popularly known) pioneered the concept High quality, High Volume, High efficiency and Low cost model for eye care delivery systems in India. And I quote New York Times here -"Aravind can practice compassion successfully because it is run like a McDonald’s with assembly-line efficiency, strict quality norms, brand recognition, standardization, consistency, ruthless cost control and above all, volume. Each year, Aravind does 60 percent as many eye surgeries as the United Kingdom’s National Health System, at one one-thousandth of the cost."

                                   Just to name a few of the international awards that Dr V received were Lifetime Service Award - International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, Helen Keller International Award and was inducted in the ASCRS Hall of Fame in 2004. Dr V passed away in 2006, but his selfless efforts to eradicate blindness from the less privileged will be remembered forever

5.   Harminder Dua (b. 1952)

                     Dr Harminder Dua's most well-known contribution to the world of ophthalmology is his group’s discovery of a new pre-Descemet’s corneal layer back in 2013.

                    This discovery of the eponymous Dua’s Layer in the cornea made lamellar transplantation procedure and outcomes better. Also, he improved the understanding of the trabecular meshwork – which is actually an outgrowth of his discovered corneal layer. The finding may contribute greatly to a better understanding of treating Glaucoma in the days to come.

                      Recently, he has been appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for Services to Ophthalmology.