Keratomileusis

Keratomileusis
Intervention
ICD-9-CM 11.71

Keratomileusis[1] is the surgical improvement of the refractive state of the cornea performed by lifting the front surface of the eye by forming a thin hinged flap under which the shape of the cornea is changed by using an excimer laser or other surgical device, and was developed by José Ignacio Barraquer, commonly called "the father of modern refractive surgery". A microkeratome is usually used to cut the flap, but a femtosecond laser can also be used to make the flap. Before the advent of the excimer laser, keratomileusis was performed using a cryolathe, which froze thin flaps of corneal tissue and lathe cut them much like one cuts the lens of a pair of glasses. After thawing, these reshaped flaps were placed under the front flap to correct visual improvement. LASIK is currently the only commonly performed keratomileusis procedure.

See also

Notes

  1. The word is derived from Greek κέρας - keras (root: kerat-) "horn, cornea" and σμίλευσις - smileusis "carving" .


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.