Laser therapy has been used to treat many pathologies in the eye for decades. A xenon arc laser was developed in the 1950s by the Carl Zeiss Laboratory and was used clinically in the early days of retinal therapy.
Nd:YAG lasers are used in ophthalmology to correct posterior capsular opacification, a condition that may occur after cataract surgery, and for peripheral iridotomy in patients with acute angle-closure glaucoma, where it has superseded surgical iridectomy.