All You Need to Know about Conductive Keratoplasty (CK)

    /24-7PressRelease/ - GOLDEN, CO, August 29, 2007 - CK is a vision correction procedure which uses radio frequency (RF) energy to reshape the cornea. A special probe introduces an electrical current to the peripheral cornea, shrinking the connective tissue (collagen). The electrical current acts like a purse-string or belt, causing the central cornea to steepen, thus improving the near vision in the treated eye. This procedure takes fewer than five minutes per eye and is essentially painless.

Advantages of CK

Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) has a very good safety record compared to other procedures and it has one of the lowest levels of complications and side effects. Because of the safety of CK and its good results, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved its use for pilots.

For some people over 45, CK may be a better solution than LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis) because there is no risk of dry eye as there is with LASIK. Older people already have drier eyes than their younger counterparts. CK is also less invasive than LASIK.

Who Can Benefit from CK?

1. Those with presbyopia. The FDA approved CK for treating presbyopia, which is sometimes confused with hyperopia.

If you are starting to develop presbyopia, you'll first notice that fine print isn't so clear anymore. You might find yourself trying on some glasses in the drugstore. We all get presbyopia at some point, usually after the age of 40 or so. It's the decreasing ability of the eye's lens and surrounding muscles to fine-tune focus.

The lens becomes stiffer as we age, and the tiny muscles that control its shape become weaker. So the lens becomes less able to do what is called accommodation, meaning to change its focus from near to far objects and back again. We become less able to see close-up objects clearly, but can still see distant objects clearly. CK is effective for treating presbyopia.

The ideal presbyopia candidates for CK would be people over 45 who have had good distance vision most of their lives; dislike not being able to see their cell phones, wristwatches, price tags, and other small-print items; and dislike their reading glasses. Dr. Jonathan Davidorf in West Hills, California, has more information about CK and presbyopia on his website.

When you're farsighted or have presbyopia, both eyes are naturally set for distance vision and close-up objects are blurry. If you have presbyopia, only one eye will be treated, usually your non-dominant eye. It will be adjusted for near vision. This results in monovision (the adjustment of one eye for near vision and the other eye for distance vision.)

2. Those with hyperopia. If you have hyperopia, both eyes will be treated to make the corneas steeper. Then, when light rays enter your treated eyes, they will be bent (refracted) more, so as to focus on the retina, instead of behind it. This will create clear vision at all distances.

Recovery

The recovery of near vision is almost immediate. In the first few hours after undergoing CK you might feel as if there's something in your eye(s), and eye drops, which contain no preservatives, will help with that.

You might be a little nearsighted during the first week and your eyes might be a bit light-sensitive. Sunglasses will help. The nearsightedness and light sensitivity should clear up after the first week.

Most CK patients may return to work within one to three days. CK results last a long time, but since we all continue to age (and suffer the effects of presbyopia) the procedure may need to be redone in five to ten years.

About half of CK patients find that their farsightedness is gone the very next day, and the other half take about two weeks to become aware of the complete benefits. If you're farsighted, or if you've reached that age where we all lug reading glasses around, you might do well to consider CK as a path to more freedom.

For more information about CK, visit the website of Jonathan Davidorf, M.D., serving the Los Angeles/West Hills California area.

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