What Is Conductive Keratoplasty?

Lasik eye

When people start to notice that they eyesight is “slipping” and things are not as clear, bright or sharp as they used to be, most folks take such changes pretty seriously and begin to seek out ways to help improve their vision. But many people, when faced with the idea of corrective eye surgery, are put off by the thought of something being somehow inserted into the eye, even if it means an ultimate improvement. The good news for such people is that conductive keratoplasty (CK) is an option for vision correction that is even less invasive than the better known forms of laser eye surgery.

CK is a fairly new kind of laser eye surgery in practice today. It utilizes a mild heat that is generated from radio waves. These waves are used to reduce the size of the connective tissues. These tissues are a glue-like collagen, found in the periphery of the cornea and which can cause vision distortions.

During the process of a conductive keratoplasty procedure, the shape of the cornea is changed and is “steepened.” This reshaping results in improved vision for people with a combination of presbyopia and far-sightedness, giving them better vision both in near and distance situations. For those patients who only have presbyopia, they can expect to have their near-vision improved.

CK is not considered to be an appropriate treatment if you are nearsighted, and Lasik eye surgery would be recommended as a better procedure for people who are either nearsighted or have an astigmatism. CK is also currently being studied for its effectiveness with correcting astigmatisms, and while early indications are that it might be effective, it is not yet being widely used to correct that type of vision problem.

When CK was first introduced, there were some problems reported with the stability of the vision corrections and instances where the cornea actually reverted back to it’s original condition before the corrective eye surgery was done. However, in recent years there have been many improvements in laser eye surgery techniques utilized in CK, and clinical studies in more recent years have shown that the procedure is delivering more stable results consistently.

In April of 2002, the FDA of the United States approved conductive keratoplasty for use with patients over the age of 40 who had mild conditions of farsightedness. Later, in 2004, the FDA expanded its approval to include presbyopia, which is a very common condition that typically effects people as they reach middle age. Presbyopia is a natural side-effect of the aging process and it causes the lens of the eye to stiffen, making it more difficult to focus at different distances at the same time.

As a result of these improvements, CK has been gaining a much greater level of acceptance among laser eye surgeons and potential patients are becoming more interested in this procedure. Ultimately, it will still be some years before long-term data on the success or failure of CK will be available, in order to make a comprehensive comparison between this type of corrective eye surgery and other procedures, such as Lasik vision surgery.

While typical laser eye surgery, such as Lasik, involves cutting the surface layer of the eye tissue, conductive keratoplasty does not require any cutting and there is not any kind of instrument that is inserted in the eye. Due to this completely non-invasive approach, there is virtually no incidence of infections or other serious complications. The primary issue with CK is the length of time the effect with last, which is reported to be constantly improving.

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Lasik Eye Surgery Problems – What Are The Risks Of Corrective Eye Surgery?

Many people with vision corrections problems were very pleased with the results offered by Lasik eye surgery. Even if the percentage is in favour of the patients, there are still some risks and complications to be considered and they should all be explained by the surgeon before the procedure.

You and your surgeon will meet for a pre-operative visit and he´ll exam your eyes and will establish if you´re a good candidate or not for the procedure. Also, this is probably the best time to ask all the important questions in order to find all the details about the price, the surgeon´s qualification and also about the follow-up care.

During the refractive eye surgery, the following risks can appear: some people can develop debilitating visual symptoms (double vision or halos), some of them can lose the lines of vision, the treatment for the visual capabilities can be too little or too much and some patients might still need glasses or contacts after the procedure.

Also, some patients can develop dry eye syndrome and for others the results can he highly influenced by their age. Before the surgery, the doctor will explain all these risks and he´ll help you decide what´s best for your health.

It is very important for you to understand that long-term data are not available on Lasik because this technology has just been introduced in hospitals. All the tests and the results vote in favour of this procedure but if you think about any additional tests you should take into consideration all the possible risks and complications.

In most cases, the complications were successfully solved and after the surgery the patient was very pleased with the results. At this point the surgeon´s level of expertise plays an important role because if he performs a quality surgery the result can completely eliminate the glasses and the contacts from the patient´s life.

Also, you might want to ask your doctor for references because other patients can help you make up your mind faster about this procedure.

Learn what are the common lasik eye surgery problems that can happen at my lasik eye surgery site.

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Reviewing The Recovery Process After Lasik Eye Surgery

Lasik laser eye surgery

These days, one of the best, easiest, fastest and most effective ways to improve many of the most common problems with vision is via Lasik laser eye surgery. One of the reasons why this has become such a popular procedure is because the vision improvement and recovery is very rapid and the risks and complications are very low. At the same time, there are a few important things that patients need to do after Lasik eye surgery so that they can enjoy the best results from their corrective eye surgery.

One of the first things that people want to know when they are considering corrective eye surgery is how long it will take, after the surgery, before they are able to return to their normal daily activities. The good news is that recovery from this type of laser eye surgery is quite rapid and within a couple days after the procedure, most people can get back to life as normal, except without the hassle of needing their eyeglasses or their contact lenses.

One thing that needs to be avoided for a few days after Lasik eye surgery is touching or rubbing the eyes and guarding them from any type of poking. In addition, right after the corrective eye surgery is done, most laser eye surgeons also recommend that the patient stay as still as possible, and reclined if at all possible, with their eyes closed.

Once these few hours have passed after surgery, the patient is then able to get back to their routine activities, either at home or at work. Still, rubbing the eyes should be avoided for a few days and if dryness or itchiness occurs, then the patient should used lubricating eye-drops to help alleviate the irritation and to sooth the eyes. Most Lasik eye center facilities will provide the patient with drops for their eyes for this very purpose.

After corrective eye surgery, it is also recommended that patients wear a soft protective eye-mask at night so that the affected eyes are buffered and protected from any inadvertent bumps, scraping or rubbing. This also helps to make sure that no foreign objects enter the eyes during this brief period of recovery from the Lasik vision surgery.

While there is historically very little occurrence of infections with laser eye surgery in general, some laser eye surgeons will prescribe antibiotics as a precaution. If antibiotics, or any other medications, have been prescribed, it is important to take these medications exactly as prescribed by the Lasik eye doctor. Also, most doctors will recommend that you drink plenty of water in order to be sure the eyes are properly hydrated during the healing process.

After Lasik eye surgery, it is also a good idea to avoid showering in order to keep soap and water out of the eyes. The patient can quickly return to normal reading, watching TV and working at the computer screen as long as they remember to keep their eyes well lubricated with artificial tears. With these few precautions, soon the patient will simply be enjoying better vision.

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Lasik Eye Procedure – What Happens During A Lasik Eye Surgery

People that were forced to wear contacts or glasses all their life can now leave these aids behind by using a new and innovative LASIK procedure called the LASIK eye surgery.

This new type of refractive eye surgery can be risky but in most cases after detailed testing and consultation the final result is a good one. If you worry about the duration of the surgery, you should know that everything lasts only a few minutes but in order to obtain good results you should be very careful about the pre and post operative appointments.

It is very important to choose a good eye surgeon and after he evaluates he´ll establish the details of the procedure. He´ll let you know if you´re a good candidate or not, he´ll explain the procedure, the complications, the risks and the final result and together you´ll set the post-op appointment.

A few weeks before the LASIK eye procedure it´s recommended that you use only glasses and no contact lens because the shape of the cornea plays the most important role during evaluation.

When the procedure starts you´ll be sitting in a chair while the doctor will put numbing drops in your eyes. After he cleans up the area around the eyes, he´ll use a machine that will keep your eye lids open.

You might feel pretty weird because our eye lids are programmed to shut but if you stay relaxed you won´t feel a thing. The lasik eye surgeon use various types of machines and that´s why the level of discomfort can vary a lot from one patient to another.

Next, you´ll have to look straight into a laser placed over your eye while the surgeon will complete the procedure.

Everything happens very fast and the discomfort will only last a few seconds. All the above mentioned details sound scary and when you think that everything happens in the eye you might reconsider but you shouldn´t. LASIK eye procedure is very safe and most candidates leave the hospital with excellent results.

Wondering how much does lasik cost? Visit my lasik eye surgery site for more information.

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