Other Types of Surgery
Radial Keratotomy (RK or Radial K)
- is a procedure much like LASIK surgery and was a precursor to the modern laser surgery. However, Radial K utilizes a very sharp scalpel and is not nearly as precise as LASIK. Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)
- is another precursor to LASIK surgery. However, it is still in use today but rapidly becoming outdated. Unlike LASIK surgery, which cuts a slit in the outer layer of the cornea, or the epithelium, PRK scrapes this layer away. It was found that totally scraping this layer away was not a necessary step and lengthened the recovery time for patients. Thermokeratoplasty
- is form of eye surgery that uses a heat source to reshape the cornea. Sometimes this heat source is a laser, however its nature is different. The LASIK laser is a cold laser, meaning it does not give off residual heat. The thermokeratoplasty laser uses the heat of the laser to "melt" the cornea and give it a new shape rather than vaporize and reshape, as is done with LASIK surgery. Orthokeratology
- is a procedure that inserts shaped rings into the eye to bend the cornea and alter its shape, causing a different angle of refraction. However, it is for the most part temporary and the rings cannot remain in the eye indefinitely.
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