What is laser thermal keratoplasty?

Laser thermal keratoplasty, or LTK, is a type of eye surgery that was introduced in the 90's years to treat long -standing. The procedure involves the use of heat from the laser to reduce the tissue circle on the cornea, the transparent eye cover. This creates a tight zone around the eye, which puts the cornea angle and is used to reduce the eye to shorten the short -sighted and repair long -standing. Since the effects of the procedure are only temporary, other permanent techniques may be preferred over laser thermal keratoplasty. Most of these techniques also change the shape of the cornea and include removal or lifting a small piece of corneal tissue, which can later be replaced. The cornea must be suitably shaped and without a scar. Extremely irregular or scarred cornea would be more frequently treated with more operational operations, such as corneal transplantation or optical keratoplasty, where corneal transplantation is used to replace unhealthy corneal tissue. People who are pregnant or who have diabetes or insufficient immune system, nEmussis to be admitted to laser surgery due to the risk of complications. Other problems such as cataracts or glaucoma may also mean that this type of surgery is inappropriate.

During the operation of laser thermal keratoplasty, the eye is anesthetic using anesthetic eye drops. The surgeon uses a special microscope called a slot lamp to explore the eye before using the laser to reduce corneal tissue circles around the pupil outside. The laser light is transmitted to the cornea in pulses and the heat from each pulse decreases instead of the corneal tissue and creates depression. The laser moves in concentric circles, creates rings by depression, effectively scored the surface of the eye and altering the shape of the cornea.

Laser thermal keratoplasty is usually performed with the aim of over -correction of the eye, which is initially short -sighted. It may be necessary to wear glasses for several weeks after surgery, after this time the eye should achieve normalvision. As more time has passed, the vision usually deteriorates, and many patients will be inspected for a long time after a year.

The advantages of laser thermal keratoplasty include the procedure is fast, simple and usually without pain. Negative aspects of laser thermal keratoplasty include the fact that vision can be blurred and the eye may feel scratched several days after the operation. There is a slight risk of infection and usually prevents drops of antibiotics eyes to prevent it.