“100% by Accident”: Scientists Stumble Upon Laser-Free LASIK Alternative
21st August 2025
The breakthrough happened entirely by chance when Hill and his collaborator, Dr. Brian Wong, a professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of California–Irvine, were frustrated with their attempts to reshape cartilage using lasers.
Hill said that they decided to try heating the material using an electric current, but accidentally used a far smaller current than they intended. They expected to see the cartilage bubbling and shaking. However, when Wong touched the cartilage, it wasn’t hot—suggesting another effect was at play.
While Wong is a medical professional, Hill is a physical chemist, and it was their partnership that allowed them to connect the dots.
Low electrical currents change the pH of cartilage, loosening molecular bonds and making tissues more malleable.
“And it’s like, this is electrochemistry,” Wong said. “That’s hydrogen and oxygen being evolved, so the discovery was entirely by accident on cartilage—100 percent by accident.”
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