Laser thermal keratoplasty is a non-contact

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

refractive surgery. __TOC__

Procedure

The procedure employs a

holmium Holmium is a chemical element with the symbol Ho and atomic number 67. It is a rare-earth element and the eleventh member of the lanthanide series. It is a relatively soft, silvery, fairly corrosion-resistant and malleable metal. Like a lot of oth ...

laser to place a ring of concentric laser burns on the

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical ...

between 6 mm and 7 mm in diameter. These burns cause a ring of constriction on the peripheral cornea causing the cornea to steepen making the eye focus better at near. This procedure may regress somewhat over time. It is similar to the

conductive keratoplasty Conductive keratoplasty (CK) is a type of refractive surgery that uses radio waves to adjust the contour of the cornea by shrinking the corneal collagen around it. It is used to treat mild to moderate hyperopia. It is a non-invasive alternative ...

(CK) procedure where a micro-needle high frequency probe is used to make a ring of corneal burns in a similar fashion.

Patents

This is an FDA procedure patented by Sunrise Technologies and currently owned by Priavision.

References

Eye surgery {{eye-stub