Ignacio Barraquer Barraquer

Ignacio Barraquer Barraquer was a Spanish ophthalmologist known for his contributions to the advancement of cataract surgery. He was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain on March 24, 1884, to a noble and distinguished family of physicians. His father, Jose Antonio Barraquer Roviralta, was the founder of the Catalan School of Ophthalmology and the first professor of ophthalmology in Spain. His mother, Maria del Carmen Barraquer, was also a doctor and a pioneer of women's education. Ignacio 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. He also developed techniques for corneal transplantation, glaucoma treatment, strabismus correction and ocular plastic surgery. He was a prolific writer and published over 600 scientific papers and several books. He married Maria Teresa Moner y de Bofarull in 1912 and had five children, four of whom followed his footsteps in ophthalmology. His eldest son, Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner, was the inventor of refractive keratoplasty and the founder of the Barraquer Institute of America in Bogota, Colombia. His second son, Luis Antonio Barraquer Bordas, was the director of the Barraquer Ophthalmology Centre in Barcelona and a pioneer of intraocular lens implantation. His daughters, Maria Teresa and Maria Dolores Barraquer Compte, were also distinguished ophthalmologists and professors. His youngest daughter, Maria del Carmen Barraquer Compte, was a painter and sculptor. Among his other achievements, Ignacio Barraquer also founded, planned, and designed the Centro de Oftalmología Barraquer in 1941, the first hospital in Spain exclusively for the treatment of visual impairments. The building, which combined Art Deco and Bauhaus styles, became an architectural emblem of Barcelona and a source of pride for its residents. He also founded the Barraquer Institute in 1947, an independent scientific association dedicated to ophthalmic research and teaching. The Institute is currently affiliated with the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He received many honors and awards for his work, such as the Grand Cross of Alfonso X the Wise (1953), the Gold Medal of Barcelona (1958), the Gold Medal of Merit in Work (1962) and the Gold Medal of Health (1964). He was also a member of several national and international scientific societies and academies. He died in Barcelona on May 13, 1965. He was buried at Montjuïc Cemetery with his wife. His legacy lives on through his family, his disciples and his contributions to ophthalmology.