Today the cataract operation is the most common surgical procedure performed in the western world. However, the story and surprising source of inspiration for the basis of the modern-day operation is seldom told.

Cataracts – the clouding of the eye’s internal lens – are the number one cause of sight impairment. There were procedures carried out to deal with cataracts for hundreds of years, but these were often painful and the results most unsatisfactory.

Roll on to the Battle of Britain and a summer morning on August 15, 1940 when a RAF ace pilot named Gordon “Mouse” Cleaver from No. 601 Squadron was scrambled for the second time that day. In his haste he forgot to don his flying goggles. While flying over the city of Winchester, England, Cleaver’s plane was caught and riddled by machine gun barrage. The plane erupted into flames and Perspex shards from the shattered shield lodged in his eyes. Cleaver rolled the airplane and baled out, eventually landing safely on the ground. Badly burned and bleeding, Cleaver was rushed to hospital where he met the amazing eye surgeon Dr Harold Ridley.

One of Cleaver’s eyes was too severely injured to be saved. It is reported that when he was visited by a squadron mate, his first comment was “Jack, tell them all to wear their goggles.”  He had to have 18 operations on the facial wounds and to address the damage to his left eye. The breakthrough in the cataract story came when Dr Ridley made a counterintuitive discovery. Perspex splinters lodged in Cleaver’s eye had not triggered a rejection response and there were no untoward effects. This was the key that Ridley was searching for and led him to think about a suitable lens to replace the natural lens removed during cataract surgery.

At St Thomas’ Hospital, London, on November 29, 1949, Ridley implanted the world’s first IOL (intraocular lens). Although immensely successful, it wasn’t until the 1980s that this procedure got the recognition it deserved and was embraced more fully. Then in 1987, the story took a unique turn when Mouse Cleaver had cataract surgery and benefitted from an implant made from a material very similar to the Perspex that had got stuck in his eye in 1940.

So, when you are going for your cataract operation, think about the bravery of Mouse Cleaver and the ingenuity of Dr Ridley. Two Britons to remember and be proud of!

If you have a question about cataracts or want advice on eye health, feel free to get in touch with me.