Corneal and Refractive Surgery

• Pterygium removal with adjunctive use of Mitomycin C and amniograft
• Photorefractive keratectomy (“PRK”) for correction of refractive errors
• Femtosecond peripheral arcuate incisions for correction of astigmatism generally in conjunction with cataract surgery

What are refractive errors and refractive surgery?

Good vision depends on how well your cornea and lens focus light rays on the retina. Light rays must bend (refract) to focus on the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive nerve layer that lines the back of the eye. It creates impulses from the light rays that are sent through the optic nerve to the brain. 

Refractive errors are vision problems caused by a cornea that is not shaped perfectly. The cornea is the clear part at the front of the eye. It bends and focuses light waves. Refractive errors cause light from an object not to be focused on the retina. This causes a blurred image. Refractive errors can occur in otherwise healthy eyes. 

There are 4 types of refractive errors:

• Nearsightedness (myopia). Close objects appear sharp. But things in the distance are blurred. The eye is longer than normal from front to back. Or the cornea is curved too much. Images focus in front of the retina instead of on it.
• Farsightedness (hyperopia).You can see distant objects clearly. But objects up close are blurred. The eye is shorter than normal. Or the cornea is too flat. Images focus behind the retina.
• Objects are blurred at any distance. The cornea, lens, or both are shaped so that images aren’t focused sharply on the retina.
• This is also known as aging eye. The eye loses its ability to change focus because of the natural aging process. This often occurs between ages 40 and 50. Refractive surgery can’t correct this problem. Surgery can make distance vision clearer. But it may make near vision worse.