Radial keratotomy
Encyclopedia : R : RA : RAD : Radial keratotomy
Radial keratotomy (RK) is a refractive surgical procedure to correct myopia.
Discovery
The procedure was discovered by accident by Dr. Svyatoslav Fyodorov who removed glass from the eye of one of his patients who had been in an accident. A boy, who wore eyeglasses, fell off his bicycle and his glasses shattered on impact, with glass particles lodging in his eyes. A procedure was performed consisting of making numerous radial incisions which extended from the pupil to the periphery of the cornea in a pattern like the spokes of a wheel. After the glass was removed (by this method) and the cornea healed, he found that the patient's eyesight was significantly improved.
Procedure detail
In radial keratotomy (RK), incisions are made with a precision calibrated diamond knife. The incisions must be quite deep to cause central corneal flattening, and the procedure is not as precise as LASIK and PRK. Few surgeons now perform RK because it is less predictable.
Arcuate keratotomy is still popular to correct astigmatism. It is also done with a diamond knife but in these cases, cuts are done parallel to the edge of the cornea.
References
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