New technique for knife and radial keratotomy.
BACKGROUND
Radial keratotomy is the most popular method of surgical correction of myopia, but requires further improvements. This study presents a new knife design for radial keratotomy.


METHODS
Radial keratotomy was performed on 120 eyes of 60 patients with myopia. We utilized two diamond knife designs. The new knife allows a surgeon to perform corneal incisions of varying programmed depth with one movement of the hand, deeper at the limbus. As a control, we used the standard Fyodorov knife. One eye was operated on with one type of knife, the other eye with the other type. The number of incisions was the same with both techniques.


RESULTS
After a 2-year follow up of the group of eyes operated on with the new knife, the mean keratometric power changed from 43.20 diopters (D) to 39.30 D, and the mean amount of myopia from -4.37 to -0.32 D. In the group of eyes operated on with the standard knife, the mean keratometric power changed from 43.20 to 39.50 D, and the mean amount of myopia from -4.36 to -0.40 D.


CONCLUSIONS
The final refractive effect of the new knife was equal to that of standard knives. However, the new knife was more convenient: duration of surgery was shorter, and there was no need to change the length of the blade to deepen the incisions during surgery.
Sergienko
N M
NM
Kiev Center of Eye Microsurgery, Ukraine.
Solodkii
N
N
Hamard
H
H
Ruellan
Y M
YM
D003315:Cornea / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007646:Keratotomy, Radial / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009216:Myopia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D014792:Visual Acuity