The operative procedures which have been devised to have rays of light enter the eyeball in cases of total opacity of the cornea are: (1) sclerectomy, (2) artificial cornea and (3) keratoplasty. The desired results were never secured by sclerectomy or artificial cornea, and these procedures were soon abandoned.
The credit for the idea of transplanting a clear cornea to replace an opaque one is given to Reisinger,1 who described the procedure in 1824. He performed this operation on only a few rabbits. The desired results did not materialize ; that is, the transplanted tissue did not remain transparent. Nine years later, Himly2 energetically disputed the claims of Reisinger to priority, and stated : "I was the first one to suggest the transplantation of a foreign cornea in place of an opaque one in my lectures many years ago and I am surprised that Reisinger, a student of mine and