What is Radial Keratotomy (RK Surgery) and how does it work?
The cornea is the clear, most anterior portion of the eyeball. It is the most powerful focusing structure in the eye. Most nearsightedness results from an excessively curved cornea which causes light to focus in front of the retina at the posterior portion of the eye. After the RK incisions are made, the cornea flattens. How do you make the incisions so the cornea flattens the right amount? By varying the size of the optic zone you can control the amount of flattening the incisions will produce. The longer the incisions, the smaller the optic zone, thus the greater will be the flattening of the cornea. The incisions are made nearly the full thickness of the cornea with a very precise diamond-edged scalpel. The actual thickness, which is typically .5 millimeters, is determined by an instrument called a pachymeter. One of the advantages of RK surgery is the minimal pain that results from the incisions. This is not true with laser surgery which requires that the outer cells of the cornea
