Corneal Optical Zone Reshaping with Excimer Laser

Abstract

Permanent correction of refractive errors have been sought by ophthalmologists for years. Many surgical techniques have been used which are indirect correction of corneal curvature, their main drawback is poor predictability, and, all rely to a large extent on a surgeon’s skill. The early work of Srinivasan¹ on photoabalation with excimer laser has opened a large field of research and a widespread interest in medicine and specially in ophtalmology². The main reason is the excimer laser ability to remove various tissues without significant thermal effect on the underlying layers. Instead of using the laser as an optical blade, the abalation effect allows the surgeon to change a surface shape by removing many homogeneous layers. This large area capability is well suited for cornea reshaping. Various delivery systems have been proposed and tested on animals and humans, they are not all equivalent and give rise to different procedure times. In addition to physical studies on ablation process in tissues, the outcome of the wound’s healing in the irradiated area is the major concern of research, for that will determine the spread of this procedure.