Latest news with #eyeSurgery
ABC News
5 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Cataract surgery blitz for Indigenous patients restores sight for hunting
In the operating theatre at Katherine Hospital, the team moves in silent unison. Scrub nurse Peter Mitchell anticipates which tool the surgeon will need next, as he carefully makes a small incision in a patient's eye. "Being in theatre in this situation, it's a really beautiful feeling — a real sense of flow and understanding," he says. But these are tricky cases. The patient on the table has a dense cataract that has gone untreated for some time. "Very, very seldom do you see a cataract as hard as this down south, but they're relatively common in the sorts of areas we're in now," Mr Mitchell says. Patients have been flown and driven into Katherine from remote communities across the Big Rivers region of the Northern Territory for an intensive week of surgeries, conducted by the Indigenous and Remote Eye Service. Over two days, cataracts will be removed from 27 eyes, in some cases bringing patients back from the brink of blindness. One of the patients is Mildred Hector, a Bilinarra woman from Nitjpurru, formerly known as Pigeon Hole. She had been struggling with hunting and fishing, with her vision in one eye obscured by cloudy cataracts. "When I go hunting … nice eye I can look, other one no good," she says. Her friends had noticed she sometimes had trouble seeing them too. Now, after her surgery, she's able to read some of the smallest letters on the eye test chart. And she's looking forward to putting her new vision to the test back home. "It's good. We'll go fishing … get barramundi, long ones, and turtles." The eye doctors say while patients in Sydney and Melbourne will sometimes joke that they can now see their wrinkles more clearly, it's common for Indigenous patients in the Top End to talk about things like hunting. "It's always exciting to see the patients smiling when we remove the patch over the eye," surgeon Susith Kulasekara says. "There are so many ways it can improve the patient's quality of life. Often driving, the patients say … and caring for their family." Director of primary health care in the Big Rivers region, Antony King, says cataract surgeries are "immediately rewarding" for patients and staff at the hospital. "It's not something that's seen often," he says. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness for Indigenous adults and are responsible for a sizeable chunk of the eye health gap. As the clouding of the lens in the eye progresses gradually, often affecting both eyes, many remote patients don't realise how bad their vision has become until they get a visit from a travelling optometrist. And then there are all the challenges of traversing hundreds of kilometres for a surgery, on poor-quality roads that often close during the wet season. Health workforce data shows 1,004 ophthalmologists practising in Australia as of 2023, with only seven of those in the vast Northern Territory. The Indigenous and Remote Eye Service, known as IRIS, is a federally funded program bringing eye surgeons to the outback to tackle the backlog of cases. "The distribution of the clinicians that are needed to deliver these services has contracted in Australia … over a number of decades," Tim Gallagher, chief executive of Brisbane-based Vanguard Health, which delivers the program, says. Mr Gallagher says patients will sometimes be on the waiting list for two to three years before they can be seen. Getting dozens of remote residents to the hospital on one day is an enormous logistical challenge, especially when some people don't use mobile phones and move from place to place. The program has succeeded by performing more than 800 cataract surgeries since mid-2023. It will now attempt to complete a further 800 during the next two years. Dr Kulasekara says word spreads about how straightforward and painless the procedure is when patients return to their community. "They become ambassadors," he says. While most of the IRIS patients are Aboriginal, some are not, such as 83-year-old Katherine resident Peter Wilson. He says the transformation of his vision after having cataracts removed from both eyes has been astonishing. "I just couldn't believe how bright everything was, the colours," he says. Mr Wilson says he does most of the vacuuming around his house but was increasingly missing spots. "I'll be told by my wife, 'That's still a bit dirty, can't you see that?'" he laughs. "So that is the sort of thing that I think will make a difference. I won't miss bits." As fellow patient Mildred Hector leaves to catch her plane back to her community of Nitjpurru, she grabs one of the eye doctors for a parting hug. "Thank you my dear, enjoy your vision," the doctor says.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Young police officer dies by suicide after 'debilitating' laser eye surgery complications
A young Pennsylvania man recently took his own life, months after he underwent corrective laser eye surgery. His parents blame their son's suicide on the "debilitating" side effects he experienced, but vision experts claim that the procedure is generally "safe and effective." Ryan Kingerski, 26, a young officer with the Penn Hills Police Department, was "funny and witty — just a genuine person," according to Tim and Stefanie Kingerski, who spoke with Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview. (See the video at the top of this article.) Common Aging Symptom Could Worsen Loneliness In Seniors "Ryan would always try and help in some way, even if it was a stranger," Stefanie Kingerski said. "He was just a very sincere person — he meant what he said and he said what he meant. He was passionate." Ryan was very close with his twin brother, Jacob, as they both followed in their father's footsteps to enter law enforcement. He enjoyed playing golf and spending time with his friends and girlfriend, his parents said. Read On The Fox News App In August 2025, he underwent LASIK eye surgery, a decision that "changed his life forever," according to the Kingerskis. He had worn glasses and contacts since middle school, but he opted for the surgery so that he wouldn't need them anymore. "My son was told he would go in, have the procedure and be back to work in a couple of days," said Tim Kingerski. "That never happened." Girl Desperate To See The World Before She Goes Completely Blind On the way home from the surgery, Ryan said that "something wasn't right," complaining that his right eye was blurry. "We told him to give it some time, but it just got worse," his father said. As the weeks progressed, the young man suffered from a litany of symptoms, including severe headaches, double vision, starbursts, ghosting, halos and other visual disturbances, his parents said. "It was complication after complication and no improvement," Stefanie Kingerski said. "We made continuous efforts to see different specialists, trying to get different opinions … They just kept saying he needed to heal." Ryan's mother claimed the laser surgery left her son with "higher-order aberrations," which are distortions in the eye that cause visual disturbances. One corneal specialist said that Ryan had very thin corneas, which should have ruled out the surgery. "In a nutshell, he was not a candidate, and they should have caught that and they should have warned him," his mother said. Elton John's Vision Loss: How An Eye Infection Can Cause Blindness As the effects got worse, Ryan withdrew from the activities he once loved and became very reserved, his parents said. In Jan. 2025, five months after the surgery, he took his own life. "The note that we got left was: 'LASIK took everything from me. I can't take it anymore,'" Tim Kingerski said. "It ruined his life. It debilitated him." Ryan's parents are adamant that his suicide was not the result of preexisting mental health issues. "If this was a mental health issue and something my son was dealing with before, I wouldn't be talking about this," said Tim Kingerski. "But there's only one reason he's not here." The Kingerskis have since connected with other families who have had similar experiences. "We hear from people constantly who just say, 'I don't know if I can do this anymore. I don't know if I can take it,'" Ryan's father said. Baby's Adorable Reaction To His New Glasses Attracts Worldwide Attention: 'Melts Hearts' Ryan's parents now aim to raise awareness and are calling for "transparency and accountability." They have also filed a complaint with the FDA. "What we're really looking for is accountability from the industry," said Stefanie Kingerski. "We want the FDA to step up, start investigating, start looking deeper, start finding out what the long-term effects are." "The implied consent is just a piece of paper that they give you without explaining," Tim Kingerski noted. "The consent form should say that LASIK can and has caused permanent damage that makes you want to kill yourself, because that is a fact." He added, "People are being hurt every day by something that is touted as safe and effective, which we can tell you it's not." Previous suicides have been reported following laser eye surgeries. In 2018, Jessica Starr, a Michigan meteorologist, took her own life two months after the procedure. She had experienced chronic dry eye and blurry vision, according to local reports. Starr left behind video journals detailing her struggles, saying she had lived "six weeks of hell." In 2016, a Texas college student, Max Cronin, committed suicide at age 27. His obituary states that his death was the result of "devastating complications from an elective laser eye surgery." Dr. James Kelly, M.D., a renowned refractive surgeon specialist and comprehensive ophthalmologist in New York City, said he is not aware of peer-reviewed literature that reports higher rates of suicide in patients who have had LASIK versus the same matched population demographics that have not had the procedure. Rare Spinal Cancer Tumor Removed Through Patient's Eye At University Hospital "The most common side effect is dry eye, for which there are many effective treatments, and the condition often improves in the several months after the procedure," he said. "The most important message to patients who are having eye problems is to seek the care of an experienced professional, and the same is true for anyone experiencing mental health conditions." The Refractive Surgery Council, an organization that aims to "help people make informed decisions about their vision correction choices," spoke to Fox News Digital in defense of these procedures. "An enormous body of scientific data supports LASIK as both safe and effective for those who are good candidates, a fact the FDA has repeatedly affirmed and validated with independent research," a spokesperson said. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter For those considering a vision correction procedure, the council recommends being "as informed as possible," which includes understanding whether they are a good candidate, choosing the right surgeon and having a thorough conversation with the care team. "As with all surgical procedures, there is a risk of side effects and complications from LASIK," the spokesperson noted. "Clinical research finds serious sight-threatening LASIK complications occur in less than 1% of patients." The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) also commented to Fox News Digital about the situation. "While we don't know the clinical details of Ryan's case, we do know that the answer to the question of why a person chooses to die by suicide is complex and most often related to depression and emotional trauma," said Stephen D. McLeod, M.D., CEO of the AOO. "We have no idea what role LASIK itself might have played. Regardless, this is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to Ryan Kingerski's family." The academy noted that while "most patients" are good candidates, "LASIK is not for everyone." For more Health articles, visit "The academy recommends patients talk with their ophthalmologist to understand the potential risks and to ensure they are a good candidate," McLeod advised. "An ophthalmologist is the most qualified physician to advise patients on all types of refractive surgery." Fox News Digital reached out to LASIK and to the FDA requesting article source: Young police officer dies by suicide after 'debilitating' laser eye surgery complications
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Alarming number of Lasik eye surgery patients who took their own lives revealed after police officer's suicide
The recent suicide of a young Pennsylvania police officer has reignited concerns over Lasik eye surgery, as dozens more were pushed to the brink of death over similar complications. Ryan Kingerski, a 26-year-old officer with the Penn Hills Police Department, took his own life after months of excruciating pain, double vision and persistent headaches. He claimed the Lasik eye surgery he underwent five months earlier was the source of his suffering. Now, as more horror stories of agonizing symptoms surface, it's becoming increasingly clear that Kingerski's case is not isolated. 'Everyone has different problems when it comes to Lasik,' Edward Boshnick, a Miami-based eye doctor, told The New York Post. 'It's the biggest scam ever put on the American public... and it's a multi-billion dollar business.' Lasik eye surgery, or laser vision correction, is marketed by providers as 95 to 99 percent safe. The so-called 'simple' procedure uses an ultraviolet laser to reshape the cornea, improving vision without glasses or contacts. Morris Waxler, 89, was the former head of the Food and Drug Administration branch responsible for reviewing data and approving the Lasik operation decades ago - a decision he now regrets. Ryan Kingerski (pictured), a 26-year-old officer with the Penn Hills Police Department, took his own life after months of excruciating pain, double vision and persistent headaches - claiming the Lasik surgery he underwent five months earlier was the source of his suffering 'It didn't matter what questions and concerns I had, because the surgeons were very powerful and still are,' he told The Post. He had petitioned the FDA to revoke its approval of the Lasik procedure after his own analysis revealed complication rates between 10 to 30 percent - a staggering contrast to the 'less than one percent' figure cited by providers. In 2018, Detroit TV meteorologist Jessica Starr hanged herself at just 35-years-old, leaving behind a 30-page suicide note and videos blaming her tragic decision on the elective surgery. She documented her struggles in video diary entries. In one recording, she spoke about feeling mad at herself for deciding to go through with the procedure. According to her family, Starr reached out to various eye doctors and even sought help with a therapist, but her emotional state continued deteriorating. The young mother ultimately took her own life after struggling with intense pain and vision problems in the two months since her surgery. 'Prior to the procedure, Jessica was completely normal, very healthy,' Dan Rose, Starr's widower, told The Post. 'There was no depression... no underlying issue.' Also in 2018, Paul Fitzpatrick, a Canadian father-of-two, killed himself and blamed 20 years of post-Lasik pain in his suicide note. In the years following his operation, Fitzpatrick suffered headaches and described feeling needles in his eyes as well as an unbearable dry and burning sensation. His family said in the months leading up to his death, the pain was so unbearable he would keep his eyes closed for most of the time, walking with a cane and planned to move in with his parents. He left a suicide note when he took his life in October of 2018, which described the pain he felt that pushed him to death. 'I cannot experience any type of pleasure anymore,' Fitzpatrick wrote. 'Just the pain of burning eyes inside my head and throughout myself… Since 1996 Pain, pain and more pain, please forgive me for not being strong enough to cope. The past few months have been unbearable.' Gloria McConnell had two Lasik procedures to fix her short-sightedness in 2019. Serious complications arose a few weeks after the surgery, including eyes so dry they had a burning sensation, mites and ingrown hairs in her eyelashes. Four years later, she was barely able to leave her bed. Fitzpatrick's family said in the months leading up to his death, the pain was so unbearable he would keep his eyes closed for most of the time, walking with a cane and planned to move in with his parents (pictured) She died by suicide aged 60. Her son said she left a note to her family in which she explained that the pain from the bungled surgery formed part of her decision to end her life. McConnell even submitted a comment to the FDA's draft recommendations which said: '[LASIK] has destroyed my life.' In August of 2024, Kingerski took some time off his dream job as a police officer to get Lasik and improve his vision - a decision that seemed safe given the demands of his career. However, he would tragically never wear his uniform again, as what his parents described as a 'tragically unsuccessful surgery' transformed him from a smiling, vibrant person to someone unrecognizable. The operation left him with debilitating side effects - headaches, dark spots floating in his eye sight, double vision and extreme sensitivity. In January, still without relief or answers, Kingerski ended his life. In a heartbreaking suicide note, he wrote: 'I can't take this anymore. Lasik took everything from me'. Paula Cofer, one Lasik survivor, shared that she endured two years of suicidal thoughts following her 'disastrous' procedure back in 2000, The Post reported. In Lasik and similar surgeries, a small flap is cut into the cornea, which is then raised slightly. This reshaping changes the way that light is refracted to make up for nearsightedness or farsightedness that occur when light doesn't hit the proper spot on the retina. 'The Lasik lobby and the surgeons will tell you only one percent of patients have issues afterward,' the 66-year-old woman told the outlet. 'That's not true. There are multiple studies that indicate otherwise.' 'The percentage of those with poor outcomes are in the double digits, not one percent,' she added. 'And they know it.' In a shocking twist, Cofer claimed to have known at least 40 people who have taken their own lives after Lasik - unable to go on living with the constant pain and vision problems developed after the procedure, The Post reported. As a way to spread awareness, Cofer runs the Lasik Complications Support Group on Facebook - just one of many organizations on social media created in response to the unspoken dangers of Lasik. 'I really didn't want to stick around at times, but I decided I would to get the word out about how dangerous this surgery can be,' she told the outlet. 'If you understand Lasik and what it does to the eyes and cornea, you realize you can't do it on a healthy eye and not expect complications,' she added. In Lasik and similar surgeries, a small flap is cut into the cornea, which is then raised slightly. This reshaping changes the way that light is refracted to make up for nearsightedness or farsightedness that occur when light doesn't hit the proper spot on the retina. 'Not everyone has severe complications but a lot more people are suffering than you know,' Cofer said. 'I got floaters, severe dry eyes, induced astigmatism and severe night vision problems.' More than 10 million Americans have undergone the procedure since Lasik was FDA approved in 1999, according to the medical journal Clinical Ophthalmology, which reports that 700,000 to 800,000 opt for laser vision correction each year. Abraham Rutner, a 43-year-old Brooklyn electrician, was one of the lucky ones - miraculously finding a sliver of hope after his failed Lasik procedure five years ago. 'It's like you have a layer of oil on top of your eye - it was so hazy and terrible,' he told The Post. 'I couldn't work. I couldn't drive. I felt like I was still a young man and I lost my life.' However, he heard about Dr. Boshnick's work, whose optometric practice offers vision and comfort restoration due to a variety of eye conditions and surgeries - including Lasik. Rutner was eventually fitted with a scleral lens, a specialized contact that covers and protects corneas damaged by Lasik. Cofer said she was also fitted with the lens - and that it has provided significant relief. The FDA does warn on its website that the procedure carries risks, including vision loss, glare, halos, double vision and other 'debilitating visual symptoms'. According to The American Refractive Surgery Council's website, 'Lasik is safe and is one of the most studied elective surgical procedures available today... the rate of sight-threatening complications from Lasik eye surgery is estimated to be well below one percent.' However, for some experts like Boshnick, Lasik is nothing more than a 'BS procedure', according to The Post. 'People come in with healthy eyes and all they need is eyeglasses,' Waxler told the outlet. 'But when surgeons cut the cornea they are removing nerves and leaving the corneas with odd shapes and some patients will have intractable pain.'
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Young police officer takes his life after suffering debilitating side effects from Lasik eye surgery
An elective eye surgery led to the tragic suicide of a young Pennsylvania police officer, whose note revealed that the Lasik procedure had 'taken everything' from him. Ryan Kingerski, a 26-year-old officer with the Penn Hills Police Department, underwent Lasik eye surgery last summer - a procedure generally considered safe - but in his case, ended in tragedy just months later. After enduring excruciating pain, double vision and persistent headaches in the five months following the operation, Ryan ended his own life in January - identifying the eye surgery as the main cause of his suffering, CBS News reported. In a heartbreaking suicide note, Ryan wrote: 'I can't take this anymore. Lasik took everything from me'. 'It just... it ruined his life. Ruined it,' Tim Kingerski, Ryan's father, told WTAE News. 'Completely ruined his life in 12 seconds.' In August of 2024, Ryan took some time off his dream job to get Lasik eye surgery to improve his vision - a decision that seemed safe given the demands of his career. 'We had no thought of that... He was very excited because they often tout - Lasik often touts - that you go in and within three days...' Stefanie Kingerski, Ryan's mother, told CBS News, beginning to trail off. 'Simple and effective routine surgery,' Tim added on. 'That he would be back to work in a couple days.' However, Ryan would tragically never wear his uniform again, as what his parents described as a 'tragically unsuccessful surgery' transformed him from a smiling, vibrant person to someone unrecognizable. The operation left him with debilitating side effects - headaches, dark spots floating in his eye sight, double vision and extreme sensitivity. 'He kept saying how bad the pain in his head was,' Ryan's parents told CBS. 'He had a terrible headache and wasn't able to focus, and the vision and the blurriness and everything else - and that just continued.' Desperate for answers, Tim immediately began taking his son from one specialist to another, hoping that one doctor would finally provide relief or a solution. 'It was one disappointment after another,' Tim told WTAE News. At this point, Ryan's parents described him as 'not good', 'disgusted' and 'full of regret', as his vision problems and excruciating pain now prevented him from working in the career he loved. 'Regret was the big thing. Why would they do this to me? Why would they not tell me?' Stefanie explained to CBS, quoting her son. 'He went on social media, he posted his experience,' Tim added. 'They sent us a letter dropping him as a patient.' In January, still without relief or answers, Ryan ended his life. 'Nothing feels right, nothing,' his parents told WTAE, attempting to explain their indescribable pain. 'Can't sleep. Don't eat. Just think about what couple have been,' they added. 'My heart just breaks.' In their immense sadness and grief, the family felt compelled to share their son's story in hopes of reaching others - ultimately bringing light to the potential complications of 'routine' procedures. 'He didn't want anyone else to ever feel the same way, and he wanted people to know the facts,' Stefanie said. 'Ryan would be here,' Tim added. 'All he did was tell the truth.' Hayden Hutchins, a patient who also experienced complications from Lasik, shared Ryan's story to his social media platform, revealing that, although tragic, his experience is unfortunately not unique. 'All these people, Ryan included, like every single story that I hear, it's more or less the same,' Hutchins said, according to CBS. 'This patient was told that they were perfect for this surgery that was completely safe, you know, 99.99 percent success rate,' he added. 'So they were told they were perfect for it, and with that information, they made a decision to go get it.' Tim, who was with Ryan the day of the operation, alleged that the doctor gave them that exact reassurance. Hutchins believes that those who suffer from complications after Lasik - including both himself and Ryan - are oftentimes dismissed. 'When they experienced issues afterwards, most of the time, issues that they were not told about at all, they are met with dismissal, gaslighting, you know, that "They're still healing. They'll be fine. It's nothing to worry about,"' Hutchins added. In a statement to CBS, the Pittsburgh LasikPlus office - whose team performed Ryan's surgery - stated that suicide typically cannot be attributed to one single cause. 'Legal requirements prevent us from speaking to the specifics of any patient, but suicide generally cannot be reduced to any single cause,' the statement said. 'To be clear, there is no clinical evidence linking suicide to Lasik surgery.' 'Each patient is provided with a copy of the informed consent form at the pre-operative appointment for review - typically days in advance of the subsequently scheduled treatment,' it continued. 'The consent form addresses the recognized risks, benefits and alternatives of the proposed procedure.' However, like Hutchins, Tim has publicly pushed back against those attributing his son's death to mental health issues rather than complications from Lasik - including the company itself. 'People are going to watch this and say it's mental health. This wasn't mental health,' Tim told CBS. 'It had nothing to do with mental health, so they are free to judge and say whatever they want to say,' he added. 'I know my son before his surgery and after his surgery were two completely different people.' Morris Waxler, former head of the Food and Drug Administration branch responsible for reviewing data and approving the Lasik operation decades ago, petitioned the FDA to voluntarily recall its approval, WTAE reported. Waxler explained that when he signed off on the procedure, it was under the condition that 100 clinical trials would follow. He left the agency shortly after. In recent years, he petitioned the FDA to withdraw its approval of Lasik - a request that was ultimately denied. Still, he maintains that the complications - as the Kingerski family knows all too well - are very much real. 'They make a slice, and they mess everything up,' Waxler told the outlet. 'They cut nerves, then, in addition, they take out a divot, which removes all the support structure or muscle out of the support section and all of it.' 'Sometimes it grows back, sometimes it doesn't grow back, sometimes it grows back poorly,' he added. 'For some people, it's a bigger problem than others.' In April, the Kingerski family gifted the police department with a touching note and challenge coins in honor of Ryan's memory, serving as a reminder of his service and dedication to his community Nearly 500,000 Americans undergo Lasik each year, and according to the American Refractive Surgery Council, the complication rate is less than one percent - highlighting the procedure's high success rate for a majority of patients. However, Ryan's parents believe that even a single complication is one too many, as they remember the vibrant, joyful son he was before ever stepping onto the operating table. 'I just know a guy who talked about how fabulous his life was and how happy he was,' Stefanie told CBS. 'We now visit in a cemetery.' After Ryan's sudden passing, the Penn Hills Police Advisory Board shared a statement to Facebook, thanking the young officer for his service and friendship. 'Ryan was not only a dedicated and hardworking officer but also a kindhearted friend to many of us,' they said. 'His presence brought positivity, his commitment to duty was unwavering, and his impact on those around him was profound. His loss leaves a void that cannot be filled, and our hearts are truly broken.' In April, the Kingerski family gifted the police department with a touching note and challenge coins in honor of Ryan's memory, serving as a reminder of his service and dedication to his community. 'Ever since he was a little boy, he would always say that he was going to be a policeman,' the note read. 'We couldn't be more proud of the son and brother that he was and the man that he became.' 'We are blessed that he found a home with all of you as a brother and a friend,' it continued. 'Our pain is unbearable and our grief is forever now that he is gone. He had so much more to give and to do.' 'Please carry this token of him with you everyday so that Ryan along with St. Michael may guide and protect you on your journey. Remember him always.' In Ryan's name, Tim and Stefanie are encouraging anyone who has had complications after LASIK to fill out a MedWatch form, which goes straight to the FDA.
Harvard Business Review
13-05-2025
- Health
- Harvard Business Review
To Drive Innovation, Create the Conditions for Serendipity
Since the late 1990s, more than 30 million people have benefited from a corrective eye surgery procedure called LASIK. Before the advent of LASIK, surgeons used a scalpel to cut into the cornea. Then, they reshaped it to improve a patient's vision. This caused a lot of damage to surrounding eye tissues. Instead of a scalpel, LASIK uses a femtosecond laser, which emits powerful pulses of light for only a femtosecond (one quadrillionth of a second). Surgeons can make very precise cuts that do not cause any collateral damage. The basic technology, known as Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA), was developed in the mid-1980s by the French physicist Gerard Mourout, earning him the 2018 Nobel Prize in physics together with Donna Strickland. But the idea of applying CPA-generated femtosecond lasers to ophthalmology was entirely serendipitous. Not quite coincidence but usually unintended, serendipity involves what Robert K. Merton describes as 'making discoveries, by accidents or sagacity, of things (someone was) not in quest of.' Serendipity Is a Three-Step Process While it is sometimes confused with luck, serendipity is a process that involves three steps. Let's look at how it worked in the case of LASIK: 1. An unexpected event happens. In 1993, several graduate students were working in Mourou's lab at the University of Michigan. Detao Du was one of them. One evening, he forgot to put on his safety glasses while he was adjusting the mirrors of a femtosecond laser. One of his eyes was accidentally hit by the beam of the laser. Du was immediately taken to the hospital to make sure his eye had not been damaged. 2. Someone sees value in the unexpected event. Once in the hospital, Du was examined by Ron Kurtz, the ophthalmologist on duty. While there was no damage to his eye, Kurtz noticed several unusual burns in his retina. As he recalls: ' When we dilated his eye, what I saw was… retinal burns in the very center of his retina. But these were unique in that they were very small and very precise. I was curious as to what kind of laser this was and learned what a femtosecond laser was.' 3. Someone leverages the serendipitous opportunity. Shortly after examining Du, Kurtz met with Mourou. He joined his team and started to work on potential applications of femtosecond lasers in ophthalmology. One year later, Kurtz and Du presented their findings at an academic conference. Tibor Juhasz was one of the attendants. At the time, he was consulting for a company that was exploring the use of picosecond (one trillionth of a second) lasers for eye surgery. The technology did not function properly. Because the pulses were too long, they inflicted a lot of damage to eye tissues. Juhasz immediately saw the potential of femtosecond lasers. As he recalls: ' Ron (Kurtz) gave a talk about his findings with femtosecond laser pulses … showing that everything that was the problem with picoseconds can be overcome using femtoseconds.' After the conference, Mourou asked Juhasz to join his team. He also convinced the University of Michigan, the NIH, and the NSF to provide additional funding. Together with Kurtz, Juhasz founded the company that launched the first femtosecond laser for ophthalmology in 2001. Juhasz recalls the early days of the startup: 'People in the industry were initially very skeptical that the concept would work.' But his persistence paid off. In 2007, the business was sold to a medical optics company for more than $ 800 million. Today, it belongs to Johnson & Johnson Vision. And the story didn't end there. After working on corrective eye surgery, Kurtz and Juhasz developed a femtosecond laser-based procedure for cataract surgery. More recently, Juhasz has created a new startup that uses the same technology to treat glaucoma. How Can Companies Leverage Serendipity? Serendipity is a concept that has been around for hundreds of years. It has led to many scientific breakthroughs. For instance, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin while doing research on influenza. Pfizer scientists found a treatment for erectile dysfunction while developing a blood pressure drug. But unlike scientists, business leaders and managers are often reluctant to embrace serendipity. To some extent, this is understandable. Serendipity is unpredictable and companies cannot entirely depend on it to innovate. Companies are also very different from universities. Their raison d'être is not to advance science, but to be profitable and grow. Nonetheless, we believe that more businesses could benefit from more doses of serendipity. Here are three science-inspired strategies that business leaders can use to better leverage it: 1. Encourage openness to surprises. A hallmark of scientists is their openness to surprises. In the femtosecond laser story, Kurtz was immediately intrigued by the unusual burns he saw on Du's retina. He was also curious to understand where they came from. Some managers have a similar ability to make sense of the unexpected. In the early 1970s, Bernard Sadow was returning from a holiday in the Caribbean. While waiting in the airport's customs transfer area, he saw an employee pushing a heavy machine on a wheeled skid. He looked at his heavy suitcases and thought: 'Now that's what we need: wheels on luggage.' And just like that, the rolling suitcase was born. In the business world, managers overlook surprises because they are too focused on day-to-day operations. When Sadow came up with the idea for the rolling suitcase, he was working at a luggage company. Had he been on a business trip rather than on holiday, he would have likely been too busy to notice the airport employee maneuvering the heavy machine and to make the connection that inspired the rolling suitcase. To foster openness to surprises, business leaders should regularly invite their team members to share the unexpected observations they've made. At first, they are likely to be skeptical. Once they begin tracking anomalies however, their ability to spot them will improve. When people know they're expected to notice the unexpected, they become more receptive and attentive to it. Over time, building this habit will strengthen a company's ability to recognize and act on unforeseen opportunities. Haier is a case in point. In the 1990s, Chinese farmers were repeatedly contacting Haier's maintenance service to complain that their washing machines kept breaking down. The service team soon discovered that the farmers were using them to wash potatoes before selling them at local markets. Instead of dismissing the complaints, Haier saw an opportunity and eventually developed an entirely new range of potato-washing machines. 2. Foster cross-disciplinary interactions. Cross-disciplinary interaction lies at the heart of serendipity. When individuals with diverse backgrounds and skills come together, the exchange of perspectives can spark unexpected connections and lead to new opportunities. In 2022, all the main protagonists of the femtosecond laser story (Mourou, Strickland, Kurtz, Juhasz, and Du) received the Golden Goose Award. This prize honors scientists whose federally funded research has led to unexpected innovations with a significant impact on society. Without the combined expertise of physicists and ophthalmologists, there would have been no femtosecond laser eye surgery. Physicists had searched for practical applications of femtosecond lasers, but they couldn't come up with an innovative idea. Within companies, employees with diverse areas of expertise are often spread across different departments. This makes cross-disciplinary collaboration unlikely to happen naturally. To make spontaneous interactions a part of employees' daily routines, companies should design spaces that make it easy for them to connect. Steve Jobs, Apple's famous co-founder, argued, in connection with his design choices for Pixar's headquarters, that: 'There's a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat—that's crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they're doing, you say 'Wow,' and soon you're cooking up all sorts of ideas.' Following his lead, many companies have designed their headquarters to encourage serendipitous interactions. A standout example is Nvidia, whose Endeavor (2018) and Voyager (2022) buildings in Santa Clara have been described as a 'Mecca of physical meet-ups.' With their open catwalks, central plazas, and terraced platforms, they are structured to encourage chance encounters and spontaneous collaboration. In an office setting, connections between employees from diverse backgrounds often form naturally through casual conversations and spontaneous interactions. In hybrid or remote environments, however, informal cross-team exchanges are far less common. That's why it is essential for managers to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration. This can take various forms. For instance, employees may be invited to join another team's meetings to share insights or offer feedback. Alternatively, they could be asked to lead a session with a different team to bring a fresh perspective. Managers may also form cross-functional teams to enable collaboration on short-term projects. Companies should also tap into the potential of external professional networks. This means encouraging employees to engage with industry associations and sponsoring their participation in conferences, even those outside their direct field. Maintaining connections with former employees through alumni networks can also be a valuable source of unexpected insights and opportunities. 3. Make experimentation an integral part of the culture. Experiments play a crucial role in science. They also drive major innovations in business. For instance, the inkjet printer originated from a failed experiment. In the late 1970s, Canon was exploring new printing technologies. The Japanese company identified inkjet printing as a particularly promising avenue and assembled a small team to work on this new technology. During one experiment, an employee accidentally touched the tip of an ink-filled syringe with a hot soldering iron. Much to his surprise, the heat caused the ink to spray out of the needle. He immediately realized that heat—rather than pressure—could be used to trigger the spray of ink. Companies are more likely to discover serendipitous opportunities when they empower employees to run small-scale experiments. While some of these experiments will fail, that doesn't mean they are worthless. What appears to be failure may be a first step toward an unexpected breakthrough. In a business context however, experimentation can only thrive with strong backing from top executives. They must champion it and acknowledge its role in driving innovation and success. Otherwise, employees are unlikely to risk running experiments that may eventually fail. Canon's leadership gave the inkjet printing team the freedom to experiment. Although the inkjet printer as we know it began as a fortunate accident, it earned leadership support as soon as its potential became clear. Without that backing, one of the company's most iconic products might never have existed. . . . While serendipity is highly valued in science, it is often overlooked or mistaken for luck in business. As a result, many managers don't open themselves up to its possibilities. That's a pity because it suggests that they may be missing out on a great many opportunities.
