Conductive Keratoplasty

Conductive Keratoplasty, or CK, is a non-laser treatment for hyperopia. It works by using localized radio-frequency energy to gently reshape the cornea. The procedure takes approximately 3 minutes to perform. Patients may experience fluctuations in their vision during the first two weeks following the surgery. Conductive Keratoplasty can significantly improve reading vision in patients who are good candidates for this procedure.

People with extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness and a desire to be less dependent on glasses or contacts may benefit from intraocular lens exchange. This simple procedure changes the refractive power of the eye by removing the natural clear lens of the eye and replacing it with an intraocular lens of a power appropriate to the patient’s refractive requirements. The procedure is similar to the one conducted to remove a patient's cataract but it is done while the lens is still clear. For that reason, this procedure is also sometimes called Clear Lens Exchange.

Some people with extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness may not be appropriate candidates for LASIK. For these people, a special contact lens that is implanted in the eye behind the cornea may be an option. The lens can be replaced or removed if needed.

This procedure is more invasive than LASIK, but less so than normal cataract surgery. Risks include glaucoma and cataracts.

Laser reversal of presbyopia provides patients in their forties and older an option to eliminate their dependence on reading glasses. This new procedure takes only 30 minutes per eye and involves making eight tiny laser incisions in the white of the eye. This allows the lens to expand and enables the eye to focus at different distances.

This procedure is still experimental, but offers promising results.

Patients in their forties and older with presbyopia now have another option to bifocals and reading glasses. A newly approved lens implant restores vision in people who need cataract surgery and wear bifocals or reading glasses.

The accommodating intraocular lens performs much like the natural eye, automatically focusing at various distances. Before this new technology was introduced, patients receiving standard intraocular lenses were only able to see clearly at a single distance, making it necessary to wear corrective lenses for intermediate and near vision.

People with mild myopia or hyperopia have an alternative option for the correction of their vision. It involves the implantation of plastic corneal rings called Intacs, which alter the shape of the cornea. The rings are surgically implanted in the front of the eye and flatten the cornea, normalizing the curvature. The rings can be left in place permanently, or they can also be removed should a prescription change become necessary.

This procedure may also aid patients with keratoconus who are excluded from other forms of corneal refractive surgery.

Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) can be used to correct mild to moderate nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism. During PRK, an eye surgeon uses a laser to reshape the cornea. This laser is used on the surface of the cornea, not underneath it, as in LASIK laser eye surgery. Therefore, no cutting is required.

LASIK (Laser in-situ keratomileusis) is the most common type of laser surgery used to correct a wide range of vision problems, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. LASIK uses a highly specialized laser to permanently change the shape of the cornea, the clear covering in front of the eye. During LASIK, a thin flap of tissue is folded back from the surface of the cornea. A laser is used to precisely remove tissue from the cornea without damaging nearby tissues. After the laser reshapes the cornea, the tissue is folded back into place, where it adheres quickly to the eye.

LASIK is quick, painless and conducted in a special laser suite. Most patients see an improvement in their vision, sometimes within hours, and no longer have the need for corrective eyewear. LASIK has a high success rate and a low complication rate. In general, LASIK requires less healing time, is less painful, and offers a faster visual recovery than photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).

Intralase (Intralasik) “All Laser”

Conventional LASIK surgery uses a vibrating blade called a microkeratome to create the corneal flap required for LASIK. Using Intralase technology, however, allows the surgeon to use a computer-controlled laser to create the corneal flap customized to each patient’s vision disorder and corneal anatomy. In FDA controlled studies, the procedure has shown advantages in greater surgical flexibility in flap design, greater flap stability, more predictable flap size, and no increase in overall trauma to the cornea. Intralase allows even some high-risk patients to be considered for vision correction surgery.