Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 02/17/2009
Because these patients only have mild to moderate myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, they can choose from most refractive surgeries and non-surgical procedures.
Surgical alternatives
- Laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK)....
The most popular refractive surgery, it is similar to PRK, but differs in how it reshapes the cornea. Instead of completely removing tissue, LASIK leaves a "flap" of tissue that the surgeon moves back into place after ablation. LASIK is less painful with a shorter recovery time. However, there are more complications associated with LASIK. - Radial keratotomy (RK). RK was the first widely used surgical correction for mild to moderate myopia. The surgeon alters the shape of the cornea without a laser. This is one of the oldest refractive procedures, and has proved successful on lower and moderate corrections.
- Astigmatic keratotomy (AK). AK is a variation of RK used to treat mild to moderate astigmatism. AK has proved successful if the errors are mild to moderate.
Non-surgical alternatives
Contact lenses and eyeglasses also can correct refractive errors. Improvements in contact lenses have made them easier to wear, and continuous-wear contact lenses, which a patient can sleep in for as long as 30 days, can provide a similar effect to PRK. A customized rigid gas-permeable contact lens is used for orthokeratology (Ortho-K), in which a patient wears the lens for a predetermined amount of time to reshape the cornea. After removing the lens, the patient's vision is improved and remains improved until the cornea returns to its natural shape. At that time, the patient repeats the process.
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Other Information
Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy (or Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis) (LASEK) are laser eye surgery procedures intended to correct a person's vision, reducing dependency on glasses or contact lenses. The first LASEK procedure was performed at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1996 by ophthalmologist, refractive surgeon, Dimitri Azar. The procedure was later popularized by Camellin, who coined the term LASEK for laser epithelial keratomileusis. LASEK and PRK permanently change the shape of the anterior central cornea using an excimer laser to ablate (remove by vapourization) a small amount of tissue from the corneal stroma at the front of the eye, just under the corneal epithelium. The outer layer of the cornea is removed prior to the ablation. A computer system tracks the patient's eye position 60 to 4,000 times per second, depending on the brand of laser used, redirecting laser pulses for precise placement. Most modern lasers will automatically center on the patient's visual axis and will pause if the eye moves out of range and then resume ablating at that point after the patient's eye is re-centered.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorefractive_keratectomy
Other Information
Approximately 56% of all patients achieve results of 20/20 or better and over 90% achieve 20/40 or better (which is good enough to drive without corrective lenses in most regions).1 Those with moderate to high myopia (greater than 7 diopters) have a lesser chance of achieving that result. As technique and technology improve, the results continue to improve.
From: Eye Surgery Education Council
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