Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology pp 1–2Cite as

Phototherapeutic Keratectomy

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 18 Accesses

Synonyms

Excimer laser phototherapeutic keratectomy; PRK

Definition

Excimer laser procedure for treatment of superficial corneal diseases and surface irregularities by ablating superficial corneal tissue without damaging adjacent untreated tissue.

Epidemiology

As the number of corneal refractive surgery procedures is increasing, so will the number of PTK for treatment of complications.

History

After its introduction in 1983 to perform surface ablations of the cornea, the excimer laser was approved for PTK in 1988 by the Food and Drug Administration.

Clinical Features

The excimer laser emits high-energy ultraviolet radiation at a wavelength of 193 nm and enables the user to treat corneas at a very high precision rate.

Tests

Thorough slit-lamp examination of the eyes and keratometric, keratographic, and pachymetric readings are required for preoperative planning to assure the best possible results.

Differential Diagnosis

Other corneal treatment methods are:

  • LASIK

  • LASEK

...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Further Reading

  • Albert DM, Miller JW, Azar DT (2008) Albert & Jakobiec’s principles & practice of ophthalmology. Saunders, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, 60590, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Marko Ostovic & Thomas Kohnen

Authors
  1. Marko Ostovic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas Kohnen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marko Ostovic .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Ostovic, M., Kohnen, T. (2015). Phototherapeutic Keratectomy. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_362-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_362-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation