Svyatoslav Fyodorov

Svyatoslav Fyodorov (born August 8, 1927, Proskurov, Ukraine, U.S.S.R. [now Khmelnytskyy, Ukraine]—died June 2, 2000, near Moscow, Russia) was a Russian eye surgeon who in 1974 developed radial keratotomy (RK), the first surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness). In Fyodorov’s technique, tiny, precise incisions were made near the cornea of the eye. This reduced the focusing power of the cornea, which is too strong in nearsighted individuals. Although the technique was later supplanted by laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), tens of thousands of patients underwent RK at Mikrokhirurgiya Glaza, Fyodorov’s eye microsurgery institute in Moscow, and at medical centres throughout the world.

In 1973, prior to the development of RK, Fyodorov developed a surgical treatment for glaucoma. In 1995 he was elected to the Russian Duma (parliament), and in 1996 he ran unsuccessfully for president.