One Response to “Corrections for myopia”

1. admin says:

   March 8, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    BL>From: b…@cain.anu.edu.au (Barbara La Scala)

    BL>I am severely short-sighted, about -9.5 in the left eye and -10.5 in
    BL>the
    BL>right.  Can any of the net.doctors (Leo Bores are you listening?) tell
    BL>me
    BL>whether the two operations (RK and that newer one using lasers) used to
    BL>cure short-sightedness would be of any use to me?  I would dearly love
    BL>to
    BL>go without spectacles permanently or at least most of the time, with
    BL>the
    BL>exception of when driving and such like.  Is this a hopeless fantasy?
    BL>Is my nose doomed to having a very large, permanent dent in it?

   The laser is not currently a viable option for the reasons that it does not do
   well in cases over -6 diopters and is unpredictable over -5 D. RK is better
   but it is best in cases UP TO -6. It IS possible to correct as high as -12 D
   with RK (I’ve done it) but the incisions are maximum depth. The other
   procedure would be myopic keratomileusis where a disk is cut from your own
   cornea (without cutting through). This disk is then re-shaped on a lathe like
   a contact lens. It is then returned to your eye where it grows back in place.
   I’ve corrected up to -18 D this way. The nice part is that it’s more
   predictable than either RK or laser (PRK) in high cases. Clear lens extraction
   with the implanation is another option but leaves you unable to focus up close
   – you’d have to wear reading glasses. Not too fun for young folks but a good
   option for us old fogies who have to wear reading glasses anyway. When the new
   multi-focal lens become more exact – that option will be more attractive.

   My advice – wait another year and see what happens. If, you can’t wait – I’d
   choose MKM.

   Leo Bores, M.D.

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