Sir, When Tim Knott, a vet, says that cataract surgery on animals has been around for 20 or 30 years (report, July 1), he is speaking about the modern operation involving lens replacement. The first recorded cataract operation on an animal was performed under general anaesthesia at London Zoo on November 5, 1850.
The patient was one of three grizzly bears purchased at great expense from a big game hunter in the United States. But two of them developed cataracts, which rendered them useless for exhibition purposes. William White Cooper, an ophthalmologist, was asked to examine them, which he did, although how it is difficult to imagine, because standing erect grizzly bears are some 8ft tall, and weigh a ton.
On November 5, a collar attached to a strong chain was placed round the neck of the first bear, and after a ten-minute struggle four porters managed to pull him to the front of the cage, where Dr John Snow, the founder of scientific anaesthesia, was able to apply a sponge soaked with chloroform to his muzzle. The operation, needling or couching, proceeded uneventfully, with a successful outcome, and was performed on the second patient, with an equally good result, ten days later.
Mr Cooper’s description of the operation was published in The Times; subsequently he was appointed oculist to Queen Victoria. The anaesthetist, of course, although he later administered chloroform to Her Majesty during childbirth on two occasions, received no recognition.
Dr D. Zuck
Past President, History of Anaesthesia Society
London N12