Surface Ablation for Keratoconus
With caveats, studies suggest it may be a surgical option.
By William B. Trattler, MD

Refractive surgeons have learned that diagnostic tests such as corneal topography and Orbscan (Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, NY) and Pentacam (Oculus, Inc., Lynnwood, WA) imaging can help identify patients who may have an increased risk of developing ectasia following LASIK. However, many patients who are poor candidates for LASIK are still highly motivated to have laser vision correction. Some patients' occupational needs require them to be free of both spectacles and contact lenses. At first glance, procedures that thin the corneas of patients with any type of keratoconus seem risky. However, surgeons have been studying the safety and efficacy of surface ablation for these patients for many years, and the results to date are favorable.

To understand why surface ablation may have a lower risk of inducing ectasia compared with LASIK, and why it is perhaps a viable surgical option for keratoconic patients, we can turn to the research performed by Michael Smolek, PhD, of New Orleans.

Full article:
http://www.crstoday.com/PDF%20Articles/0806/CRST0806_12.pdf