Ignacio Barraquer

Who was Ignacio Barraquer?

Ignacio Barraquer was a Spanish ophthalmologist known for his contributions to the advancement of cataract surgery. Barraquer was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He was the father of Jose Barraquer, an ophthalmologist known to many as "the father of modern refractive surgery".

Ignacio Barraquer Barraquer received his medical doctorate in 1908 in Barcelona, and upon his father's retirement, was appointed Acting Professor of Ophthalmology at the School of Medicine, held until 1923. He invented many surgical instruments and procedures involving cataract surgery, many of which are named after him; some among them the suction cup that extracts cataracts, and the fine-tunable vacuum-producing apparatus which allowed the removal of the crystalline lens.

Among his other achievements, Barraquer also founded, planned, and designed the Centro de Oftalmología Barraquer.