Eye Surgeon Dr. Amar Agarwal operated on a cataract through a 700-micron incision at the B.B. Eye Foundation in Kolkata. The incision was as wide as the tip of a .5 mm ballpoint pen, the thinnest ever used in phaco-surgery in any part of the world, so far.

About 300 ophthalmologists from across the country watched Dr Agarwal on a giant screen as he was creating medical history. “The technique used will set a trend. It heralds a new era in cataract surgery,” stated ophthalmologist Pradeep Kumar Bakshi, who was among those who watched Dr Agarwal perform Microphakonit on his aged patient affected with advanced cataract.

The surgery takes just 15 minutes. There is no discomfort, the patient need not stay overnight at the hospital, and can get back to work immediately. However, the new technique costs 20 to 30 per cent more than conventional phaco-surgery. But experts expect the technique to catch on in the country.

The surgery has made India a global front-runner in the development of surgical procedures and techniques for cataract removal.