Svyatoslav Fyodorov, M.D.: innovative eye surgeon.
BACKGROUND: Svyatoslav Fyodorov is a brilliant, innovative Russian ophthalmic surgeon. METHODS: who has sought to restore eyesight to as many people as possible. His unconventional methods have surprised, shocked, and antagonized his medical colleagues and have challenged the accepted therapies of the day. He has nevertheless persevered and has ultimately won acceptance and respect. RESULTS: In an effort to uncover the workings of the eye, he investigated the surgical effort to substitute an artificial intraocular lens for a cataractous one, which challenged the accepted techniques of the time. He did this by the use of radial corneal incisions to eliminate myopia, which was performed on a conveyor belt. CONCLUSIONS: Fyodorov's surgical technique for the reduction of myopia, radial keratotomy, has been modified and performed on hundreds of thousands of eyes in the United States.