CK Radio Waves Eye Surgery: Lasik
Alternative
CK
or Conductive Keratoplasty
is a
pretty new form of refractive surgery which makes use of
mild heat from radio waves to reduce the size of the
collagen (the connective
tissues) in the periphery the eye corneas. This procedure steepens
the corneas thus giving patients suffering from hyperopia
and presbyopia better near and far vision. It also helps improving the
near vision
of patients suffering from presbyopia alone. But if you are
nearsighted, Conductive Keratoplasty is not for you.
Earlier problems with the use
of CK are now being addressed. The main problems include the tendency of the corneas
to revert back to their initial states as well as the
difficulty of the corrected visions to remain stable. The recent clinical studies have shown
improvement and have come up with more stable results. As
such, Conductive Keratoplasty is now being widely accepted
by eye surgeons as well as the patients themselves.
Conductive Keratoplasty
treatment is offered to patients with the age 40 years old
and above, with either mild hyperopia or presbyopia or both.
However, if you are wearing pacemakers for heart regulation or other
similar electronic devices, you are not recommended to
undergo this treatment. This is because the radio frequency waves used
could interfere with its functions.
For hyperopia correction,
both eyes will be treated and the range for refractive error
is between +0.75 and +3.25 diopters, with no more than 0.75 diopters
in astigmatism. For presbyopia, the monovision approach is
used where only the non-dominant eye is treated for near
vision. The dominant eye is left untreated. One of the major
advantages of CK monovision correction is that it is less
likely to blur a person’s distance vision as compared to
Lasik monovision or contact lenses. For both hyperopia and
presbyopia correction, you have to make sure that you
prescription for glasses or contact lenses is not changed
within a year prior to the surgery.
In order to find out if CK correction
for presbyopia is you choice, you can
have a trial monovison correction using contact lenses. In
the test which will be done by your eye surgeon, one of your eyes is corrected
for near vision while the other eye is being corrected for
far vision. In some cases, the test can be done by holding a test lens in front of your
non-dominant eye to make sure that your distance vision
still remains sharp.
Conductive Keratoplasty
procedure can be done in the ophthalmologist’s office. An
eye drop will be used as anesthetic. A special tool is used
to support the eyelids to keep them open and prevent the eye
from blinking during the procedure. The surgeon will then
imprint a pattern on the cornea by using a rinse-away dye.
The pattern will show where the radio frequency must be
applied. Only a few seconds needed to treat each eye. For
hyperopia correction, both eyes can be done during the same
visit.
After the procedure, eye
drops will be prescribed to
reduce the risk of infection and inflammation. You might
also need to wear special contact lenses which serve as
bandages for a few days to reduce any uncomfortable feelings.
You might also encounter
some temporary side effects such as being nearsighted
for the first week as well as
sensitivity to bright light. So wearing sunglasses might be
necessary but all these side effects would soon clear up.
