The first theoretical work on the potential of refractive surgery was published in 1896 by Lendeer Jans Lans, an ophthalmology teacher in the Netherlands. He proposed a method for correcting astigmatism by making a series of penetrating cuts into the cornea. In 1930, the Japanese ophthalmologist Tsutomu Sato made the first attempts at performing this kind of surgery, hoping to correct the vision of military pilots.