zarifes@bnrmtv.UUCP (Kenneth Zarifes) (11/01/85)
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If any of you or anyone you know of is considering having a radial
keratotomy you had better wait!
Current studies have shown that the eyes of people who have had this
operation have been continuing to become more and more hyperopic (far-sighted)
as time goes by. There is apparently no stabilization taking place. The
resultant far-sightedness may need to then be treated.
If you've had this procedure or are considering it, take the following
article to your doctor,
Archives of Opthamology
Vol. 103 June 1985
pp. 782-784
{hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!zarifes --Ken Zarifes
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{hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!zarifes --Ken Zarifespeter@graffiti.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (11/09/85)
> Current studies have shown that the eyes of people who have had this > operation have been continuing to become more and more hyperopic (far-sighted) > as time goes by. There is apparently no stabilization taking place. The > resultant far-sightedness may need to then be treated. A lot of people, particularly short-sighted people, tend to get more far sighted as time goes by anyway. Have the studies corrected for this (probably, but it's best to be sure)? -- Name: Peter da Silva Graphic: `-_-' UUCP: ...!shell!{graffiti,baylor}!peter IAEF: ...!kitty!baylor!peter
dr@ski.UUCP (David Robins) (11/11/85)
> > resultant far-sightedness may need to then be treated. > > A lot of people, particularly short-sighted people, tend to get more far > sighted as time goes by anyway. Have the studies corrected for this (probably, > but it's best to be sure)? Near-sighted people do *NOT* become far-sighted at time goes on. They do become presbyopic, as everyone does as they get older (past 40 or so), but this does not alter their distance refraction. Presbyopia is age-related decrease in accommodation, or ability to focus the eyes from the relaxed distance focal point, to the accommodated near focal point for reading. Near-sighted (myopic) persons often become presbyopic at a later age than normal (emmetropic) persons. In addition, if someone is very myopic, the minus lens they wear slightly decreases the accommodation needed for a given near distance, due to the optics involved. {Presbyopia is when one has trouble reading at the normal reading distance, but can read by holding the material farther away (at least until one's arms cannot hold it far enough away for comfort)!}(get longer arms? (:-). The R-K studies follow the distance correction, which is a function of the optics of the eye, rather than the accommodative reserve. -- ==================================================================== David Robins, M.D. Smith-Kettlewell Institute of Visual Sciences 2232 Webster St; San Francisco CA 94115 415/561-1705 {ihnp4,qantel,dual}!ptsfa!ski!dr The opinions expressed herein do not reflect the opinion of the Institute!