Laser Treatment Information

- DTK/Conductive Keratoplasty

These laser treatments involve creating a ring of laser spots around the central of the cornea which then causes a steeping of the tissue and I use these methods in some people for correcting long sight. The advantage of these treatments is that they do not involve any cutting of tissue. The eye can be moderately painful for 24 hours and a lesser degree of discomfort is often present for several days. Treatment generally over-corrects the long sight which is then converted to short-sight. This produces good reading vision initially but it will tend to regress while the distance vision sharpens over several weeks. A feeling of grittiness and dryness in the eye is quite common after DTK or conductive treatments but this will settle. Haloes, glare and star burst effects are also common with laser treatment as in Lasik but they also do tend to resolve after a number of weeks or sometimes months. This type of laser treatment is newer than Lasik and the long term success is less well known.

The most common form of laser treatment at present is Lasik and this has been used now for approximately 5 years.

- Implants

For those patients who are too short-sighted or too long-sighted or who have too much astigmatism for laser treatment there are other methods of therapy available such as implants which go inside the eye on top of the crystalline lens and can correct virtually any degree of optical deficit. Another sheet is available on these if you require this type of surgery.