|
|
Published : June 08, 2009 |
Author : admin
Category : LASIK | Total Views
: 481 | Unrated
|
|
|
What is Farsightedness (Hyperopia)?
If you can see distant things clearly but
near objects look blurry without glasses or contacts, you are farsighted
(hyperopic). The cornea (clear front part) is too flat. Or stated another way:
your eyes are too short (front to back) for the refractive power they have. In
other words, the cornea and lens are not able to bend incoming light sharply
enough to make it focus on the retina at the back of the eye.
Instead,
the light is focusing behind the retina, or would be if it could travel through
that dense tissue. So images on the retina are blurry when the object is nearby.
Distant objects look clear because the light from them does not need to be bent
so sharply.
Many individuals do not realize they are farsighted until
they become adults, although farsightedness can occur in children. It affects
approximately 62 percent of people over the age of 40.
Understanding
Presbyopia
How presbyopia happens is not fully understood and there are
several theories. The main theory is that as we age the lens becomes stiffer and
less able to steepen its curvature. So the individual's ability to focus on near
objects lessens and they look blurry but far objects remain clear. Conductive
keratoplasty is used to treat presbyopia.
The Conductive Keratoplasty Procedure
CK
requires anesthetic eyedrops and causes little to no pain or discomfort. There
are no incisions and no corneal tissue is removed. A tiny probe with a very fine
needle tip transmits radio waves that apply heat to peripheral areas of the
cornea in a pattern of spots.
As the spots heal, they shrink and gently
tighten. The act like a tightening belt on the cornea and give it a steeper
curvature. The cornea can now bend light more sharply to focus it on the
retina.
Vision improvement with CK is virtually instantaneous, although
additional treatment may be necessary at some later date, since the effects of
CK are not necessarily permanent.
Good Candidates for Conductive
Keratoplasty
Requirements for candidacy for conductive keratoplasty
include:
• Being at least 18 years old
• Having healthy eyes
• Having
a vision prescription that has been stable for at least one year
• Having
vision within the correctable range for CK, which is -0.75 to -3.00 diopters of
hyperopia
The best candidates for CK are people over 45 years of age who
experience difficulty seeing objects and print that are less than two feet away
and who have good distance vision without eyeglasses or contacts.
You may
not qualify for CK if you:
• Have or have had an autoimmune disease
• Are
pregnant or nursing
• Have an eye disease or an eye injury
• Take
prescription medication that might affect corneal healing
For
individuals who develop presbyopia after developing nearsightedness, LASIK may be a better option.
CK
Risks
Complications are rare but can include:
• Seeing starbursts or
halos around lights
• Hazy vision
• Double vision
• Light
sensitivity
• Under- or over-correction
• Dry eyes
• Eye irritation
• Allergic reaction to the eyedrops
• Anisometropia: a condition that
causes a difference in focusing ability of one eye over the other
Are
you ready to discuss CK with an experienced ophthalmologist who can help you
decide which procedure is right for you? A consultation would be the first step
towards your sharp new vision.
In Seattle, Washington, schedule a
consultation with Dr. Kent Leavitt at Bellevue Lasik and
Cornea.
Source: Bellevue Lasik and Cornea
Website: http://www.bellevue-lasik.com
|
|
|
|
