Once again, a Argentinian is among the most outstanding in the world in a discipline. In this case it is Roberto Zaldivar, ophthalmologist and refractive surgeonwho was included among the 100 most influential ophthalmologists in the world according to the English magazine The Ophthalmologist.
Creator of different techniques and designs that are used today in everyday practice, Zaldivar was recognized for his contributions to surgical treatment, especially in the use of laser operation to correct visual disabilities. Previously, his name had already been selected among the 100 most influential in the years 2018 and 2020.
Founder of Zaldivar Institutelocated in Mendoza, Zaldivar He is a 67-year-old Argentine ophthalmologist. His contributions to ophthalmology have been numerous over the years of his career and include, for example, the development of an intraocular lens for the treatment of myopia.
In 1993, the Argentine implanted the first implantable colamer lens of the world in his clinic in Mendoza. In this way, he became a world leader in this type of ophthalmological practices.
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The Zaldivar Institute has performed more than 200,000 surgical interventions.
Zaldivar Institute.
“It is an intraocular contact lens that is implanted inside the eye without having to touch or remove the lens,” the Mendoza foundation explained about the technique developed by Zaldivar. In addition, the institute explained that, thanks to this type of intervention, “marked a before and after in world ophthalmology for its ability to correct large optical effects, since it is capable of correcting up to 20 diopters of myopia and six diopters of astigmatism.”
In recent years, this practice has experienced a boom due to great growth in cases of myopia around the world, with approximately two million patients around the globe. This catapulted Zaldivar to the center of the scene, who, in recent years, was responsible for treating well-known figures such as Susana Giménez and Brad Pitt.
It is not the first time that the Argentine has been included in the list of the English magazine The Ophthalmologist, since his name was already in the ranking in the years 2018 and 2020. Currently, Roberto continues to lead the Zaldivar Institute – which has already been working for 6 decades – together with his son, Roger.
Other recognitions
Despite the merit of appearing in The Ophtalmologist ranking, Roberto’s career is full of recognitions in his favor. To begin with, the Argentine doctor was the first non-American professional to whom the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery granted him, in 2022, the Roger Steinert Awardwith which they highlight who “has made significant contributions to refractive surgery“.
At that time, the specialist declared that the award represented a “great recognition to Argentine and Latin American ophthalmology“. In addition, he also assured that “being valued for contributing to contributions that change people’s lives and vision all over the world it is a great satisfaction“.
Also in 2007, Zaldivar was recognized for the technique “bioptics“, a practice that the Argentine developed in 1996. Thus, during the XX German Congress of Ophthalmological Surgeons, the Argentine was chosen as Innovative Surgeon by a renowned international jury from the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the German Society of Ophthalmology and the American Association of Ophthalmology and its technique was included in the select list of 17 scientific advances that marked a milestone in the history of world ophthalmology.
Such was its impact that, today, Bioptics is the technique most used in the world in recent years for the correction of hyperopia and high myopia in people under 40 years of age. Among recognitions, Zaldivar continues to lead the Institute located in Mendoza, which has been contributing to world medicine for more than 6 decades.
