"SCRATCHES OPERATION"
The "scratches operation" or "radiaire keratotomy" was, till 1996, the most used operation to pre-empt the wearing of glasses and contactlenses. It was used for pure myopes from -1 to -4 (without astigmatism) .
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE OPERATION:
In myopia, the anterior-posterior diameter of the eye is relatively too long so that the light rays are focused before the retina and not on the retina. The operation is done under local anesthesia with eye drops, 8 deep incisions (deeper than the scratches!) are radiated made in the cornea, the median released. The cornea becomes weakt, causing a little bit invasion. So the length deviation of the eye is corrected. Also the curvature of the conrea changes, wich contributes in the myopia reduction.
INTEREST:
Since the upswing of laser treatment for myopic (especially lasik) this operation is totally outdated.
Laser has the following advantages:
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Extreme accuracy : the laser cuts precisely to 1µ (1/1000 mm). The "scratches surgery" ("radiaire keratotomy) is not as accurate (an accuracy of 5 - 20 µ )
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Both eyes are treated simultaneously: with the radiare keratotomy you had two surgeries with 1 week in between
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Quality of the view is better with the laseroperation
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Stability: after the radiare keratotomy the view , certainly the first month, could fluctuate. After some years you can see a hyperopic shift: the glasses correction becomes more positive, so they need reading glasses faster.
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The microscopic scar is hardly or even not observable after Excimer lasersurgery, however after radiare keratotomy you can still see the scars (although not with the naked eye!)
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The cornea is less attenuated with the laser. The scratches are deep lacerations, who cut through 90 % of the cornea.
SINCE 1999 WE DON'T APPLY RADIAIRE KERATOTOMY ANYMORE .
WE PERFORM: LASIK, OR EVEN BETTER FEMTOLASIK . CLICK ON THE WORD TO GET MORE INFORMATION .