LASIK, or laser-assisted vision correction surgery, is a very common procedure now. If you have been considering it, it is best to see your optometrist first. You may be surprised to learn that not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK, and you may be one of these people. Instead, your optometrist may decide that RK, or radial keratotomy, is the more ideal surgical procedure for you. Here are some reasons why your optometrist might use RK (a somewhat outdated procedure) instead of LASIK for your eyes.
Astigmatism
If you have astigmatism in one or both eyes, then the laser procedure will not produce the kind of results you are seeking through eye surgery. Your eye or eyes are shaped more like footballs than globes, which means that the laser incisions cannot change this shape into something more round and more receptive to the effects of the laser. On the other hand, RK would alter the shape of your eye(s) into something more round, while also correcting your nearsightedness or farsightedness.
Corneal Abnormalities or Scar Tissue
If you have corneal abnormalities, such as extra thicknesses of tissue in some spots or a congenital (i.e., from birth) disorder of the corneas, then the laser may not be able to help you. The incisions made with a laser are generally designed to work with "normal" eyes, and the abnormalities make it more difficult to predict the outcomes of the laser surgery. Additionally, scar tissue on your corneas can affect the laser's ability to make straight and accurate incisions. For this reason, your optometrist may also decide to use RK because the incisions are made with a diamond scalpel, which can cut through the scar tissue and/or the corneal abnormalities with ease.
Cataracts and Age-Related Diseases of the Eye
While laser eye surgery works best for anyone of almost any age, it really does not work quite so well on patients of an advanced age because of cataracts and age-related eye diseases. Since these issues also have to be addressed surgically, you can have cataracts removed while receiving RK to correct your vision. Radial keratotomy does triple duty when you use it to correct your vision, fix cataracts and correct astigmatism. If you are beyond the age of sixty, and you want to correct your eyesight along with these other vision problems, then your optometrist will definitely suggest RK in place of laser surgery.
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Share14 November 2016
After watching my mother navigate treatment for breast cancer in my early teens, I knew pretty much what to expect from my dad's diagnosis with prostate cancer. What I didn't know was how different chemotherapy and radiation can affect different people. My mother became very ill while my dad seemed to weather the treatments with few ill effects. I spent a long time researching the differences in treatments, types of chemotherapy, and how each one can react differently with the body. I created this blog to help others understand the same things, because I knew I couldn't be the only one unfamiliar with it. I hope it helps you if someone you love is facing treatment for any type of cancer.
