Evolution of refractive surgeries

Abstract

The use of surgical procedures to correct refractive errors of the eye has come a long way. The two main types are corneal procedures and intraocular procedures. Corneal procedures have evolved from thermokeratoplasty, keratotomies, epikeratoplasty, laser ablation, conductive keratoplasty, and collagen cross-linking. Intraocular procedures involve phakic intraocular lens (IOL), toric IOL, refractive lens exchange, and accommodating IOLs. Various physicists and ophthalmologists have played a role in this saga. From the idea of using thermal energy to shrink corneal tissue to using femtosecond laser, this article highlights the important landmarks in the history of evolution of refractive surgeries. Refractive surgeries form an ever-growing specialty of ophthalmology with addition of novel techniques with every quantum of time.

Keywords

• Femtosecond laser
• laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis
• phakic intraocular lens
• photoablation
• wavefront