The 'Eyes' Have It

Maria Gilmore couldn't see the plate of food in front of her. No matter how much she squinted, a blur of colors and the fuzzy shapes of chicken and rice stared grimly back. After eight years of "seeing" her vision get worse, Gilmore decided to do something about it. She got conductive keratoplasty (CK), an elective surgery to correct her farsightedness.

CK transmits radiofrequency (RF) energy into the eyes to correct damage caused by aging. CK is the first non-laser procedure to correct farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia.

"I hated to go shopping because I couldn't read the price tags," she said, admitting she disliked the look of glasses on her. When Gilmore turned 40, glasses became the only way she could see the computer screen blinking in front of her. Her vision was worsening. But the operation changed everything.

"I don't have to take my glasses on and off. My vision has improved 90 percent," she said. "Now I can see people across a room."

CK was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2003 for treatment of hyperopia (farsightedness) and in 2004 for treating astigmatism and presbyopia.

Some 60 million people have presbyopia, an age-related, progressive condition that causes the lens of the eye to lose its ability to focus. Farsightedness is caused by the eye's cornea being too flat or too short.

CK is considered less likely to cause complications compared with other procedures such as LASIK, which uses a laser. Research shows applying heat energy to the cornea shrink the corneal tissue. CK uses RF energy to reshape the cornea surface. More than 20 years of research into this technique has established the proper depth and temperature needed to achieve the proper change in the eye.

Is it safe and does it work?

The FDA has one of the most highly regulated systems for approval of medications and procedures in the world. RF technology itself is not new; it's already used today to treat liver cancer, snoring, cosmetic surgery and enlarged prostate.

In CK, the doctor uses a small probe, which is thinner than a strand of human hair, that releases RF energy. The probe is applied in a circular pattern on the outer cornea to shrink small areas of corneal tissue. Numbing drops are applied to the eyes, and the whole process typically takes about three minutes for each eye.

The cost of the surgery varies depending on the surgeon, but expect it to be about the same as LASIK. Patients can see improvements right after the surgery and usually return to work several days later. Correction from CK may be temporary and re-treatment may be necessary later.

On the other hand, painless LASIK involves a special knife that cuts a hinged flap of corneal tissue from the outer layer of the eyeball. The flap lifts out of the way, and the laser reshapes the underlying corneal tissue. The calculation for how much tissue is removed by the laser is done ahead of time. Once the reshaping is completed, the surgeon replaces and secures the flap. LASIK can take about five minutes an eye. But LASIK is more successful with nearsighted people than for farsightedness, and that's where CK comes in.

Gordon Grogan, 65, did his homework before undergoing his procedure. He decided having the surgery would pay for itself in three years or so when considering the cost of regular eye exams, new contact lenses, and cleaning solutions.

"It wasn't to look better," Grogan said. He wanted to have better eyesight for working at his computer. He has nearsightedness and farsightedness, which he says both have improved vastly thanks to CK. "I can read anything now."

Are you a good candidate?

You might be a good candidate for the procedure. Here are some basic criteria.

• Patient must be 40 years or older.
• No drastic changes in vision or eyeglass prescription within the past year.
• No eye conditions such as glaucoma, severe dryness, keratoconus, herpes of the eye, aggressive keloid formation, or corneal dystrophy.
• No physical conditions such as diabetes, pregnancy or nursing, and vascular or autoimmune diseases.

If you are interested in the procedure, see an eye doctor.

Related Articles A Close Look at Laser Eye Surgery LASIK Eye Surgery Do Your Eyes Hurt Now?

External Sources American Optometric Association MEDLINE Plus Health Information-Visual Acuity U.S. Food and Drug Administration-Center for Devices and Radiological Health

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.

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