|
Read My Lips
NO MORE GLASSES!!!
You have seen the advertisements. It looks like a recipe for alphabet soup
- RK, AK, ALK,
PRK, LASIK, ICR,
ICL, AOK, etc. What do all these letters
stand for and what do they have to do with your eyes? Do these procedures
really work? Could these procedures change the way you look at the world
as well as change the way the world looks at you? Are glasses going to go
the way of the dinosaur because of this miraculous surgical meteor? Are
any of these procedures right for you? Let's take a closer look at some of
these so that we may answer some of these questions.
RK - Radial Keratotomy
Radial Keratotomy is the use of a scalpel to put radial (like the
spokes of a wheel) incisions into the cornea (clear dome on the front of
the eye) and thereby alter it's shape permanently. RK has been with us for
several decades but only in the two decades become much more popularized.
Although some people have done very well with RK, some have had problems
with glare, poor vision that glasses do not correct, and fluctuating vision
where things can be clear in the morning but become blurry by afternoon.
These problems have led to some frustration for the people that have had
this procedure. Many of these people must be fit into contact lenses to
provide them with clear vision.
 Top
AK - Astigmatic Keratotomy is similar to RK except that the incisions are
arc shaped as opposed to the radial incisions of RK. This procedure is
specifically aimed at reducing astigmatism.
Top
ALK - Automated Lamellar Keratoplasty has generally been reserved for high
amounts of near sightedness and is done by using an automated scalpel that
makes a thin slice to the front side of the cornea.
Top
PRK - PhotoRefractive Keratectomy
PhotoRefractive Keratectomy is the use of a cool excimer laser beam to
permanently reshape the cornea such that near sightedness and astigmatism
can be reduced. This laser has been used since the end of the eighties.
The results with this procedure are very good. The pre-op and post-op care
are as important as the actual surgical procedure to obtain the best
possible result.
Top
LASIK - Laser Intrastromal Keratomileusis
Laser Intrastromal Keratomileusis (also Laser In Situ Keratomileusis)
is actually the combination of ALK and PRK. The automated scalpel makes
a "cap" of cornea which is held back while the laser reshapes the cornea.
The "cap" is then put back into place over the reshaped area of the cornea.
This procedure has benefits over both the individual PRK and ALK procedures
in that the higher amounts of near sightedness can be better addressed with
the precision of the laser. The recovery period for this procedure is
generally much faster than that of the PRK procedure alone. Although
PRK and LASIK both give excellent results LASIK has rapidly become the
procedure of choice because of the faster recovery period.
Top
ICR - IntraCorneal Ring
IntraCorneal Ring is still experimental and is the implantation of a
"ring of contact lens material" into the cornea. This procedure has the
additional benefit of being reversible - the "ring" can be removed. This
is being marketed under the trade name of Intacs. More recently this has
been used to treat certain keratoconus cases.
Top
ICL - Implantable Contact Lens is also experimental and is done by placing
a contact lens inside the eye. This procedure holds great promise and is
also theoretically reversible. Much more data needs to be collected but
even extreme prescriptions should be addressable with this procedure.
Top
The above procedures are all surgical procedures which means that some part
of the eye structure has been permanently altered (ICR and ICL in theory are
reversible from the prescription aspect but the eye has still been
permanently altered). Although the structural change is permanent, the need
for an optical device to correct one's prescription is not. The eye will
continue to change after surgery as it was destined to change because
surgery does not alter this course. The purpose of these surgical
procedures is to greatly reduce the need for prescription glasses but not
to replace glasses forever. At some point in a person's life, the need for
two separate prescriptions (presbyopia) for distance and near will also
become a factor. This applies to everyone - even if you are one of the
lucky ones that doesn't wear glasses for one or the other now, you will
need one of these eventually. This is because the eyes will lose their
ability to focus close objects as sure as tomorrow you and I will be one
day older. All of the surgical procedures can correct only one prescription
and can not address the changing needs over the eyes' lifetime. An optical
aid at some point will be necessary for either distance (driving, television)
or near (reading, computer). Still one of these procedures may better
address your current lifestyle than your glasses or contact lenses.
AOK - Accelerated OrthoKeratology
is the use of contact lenses to gently
reshape the cornea to reduce the prescription, in a similar way to the
surgical procedures. This procedure also has been available for many
decades but even today is still not generally well known. The major
difference in AOK from it's surgical cousins is that it is reversible.
If the lenses are not worn in a continued retainer fashion the prescription
and eye will return to it's pre-procedure state. This reversibility gives
OrthoKeratology an increased measure of safety as
compared to the surgical procedures. Additionally, because it is reversible
it is capable of dynamically addressing the ongoing changes that the eye will
go through for a lifetime. This is a very large factor to consider because for
many years to come this procedure will continue to provide clear vision without the
need of an optical device, for both distance and near. Depending on the
particular set of eyes, the retainer lenses are generally worn only during
sleep hours and are removed for all waking hours. Yes, that is a little
backwards to conventional contact lenses. Everyone needs to sleep, at
some time, and so this schedule is a very simple schedule to maintain. The
most commonly asked questions with regard to OrthoKeratology
are; 1) Can I see with the lenses on? 2) Do the lenses hurt? The lenses give clear
vision while they are worn, do not hurt and do not feel any different than
any other contact lenses. The magic here is that when the lenses are
removed, the vision is still clear! Additionally, there is no surgical
risk.
Top
Have you been wearing glasses for countless years? Have you always dreamed
of waking up and being able to see the clock? Can you imagine swimming
without fear of losing a contact lens? How about golfing and tennis with
no prescription glasses or even contact lenses? The ability to enter a
mall or a smoke-filled room and not have your contact lenses dry out?
Perhaps it is time for you to investigate whether one of these procedures
would be right for you.
Top
Home
|
