초록 ▼

A process for surgically correcting presbyopia includes anesthetizing a patient and marking a portion of an eye of the patient which is to be ablated. At least a portion of the cornea is resected to expose the corneal stroma. An annular portion of the corneal stroma is then ablated using radiation f

A process for surgically correcting presbyopia includes anesthetizing a patient and marking a portion of an eye of the patient which is to be ablated. At least a portion of the cornea is resected to expose the corneal stroma. An annular portion of the corneal stroma is then ablated using radiation from a laser beam. After ablation, the cornea is repositioned onto the eye. The cornea may be resected such that a portion of the cornea remains intact, and is folded back to expose the corneal stroma. Alternatively, a complete disk of the cornea may be removed from the eyes to thereby expose the corneal stroma. After exposure but before ablating, the corneal stroma should be dried to prevent uneven ablation which may occur if fluids are present on the stroma. The laser beam may be directed in a circular fashion until an annular ablation is formed, or a mask may be provided over a central area of the corneal stroma. To prevent edema, the ablated portion should be cleaned by brushing and irrigating. A system for surgically performing the presbyopia correction process also is described. This system includes a marker, a resector such as an automatic corneal shaper, and a laser for ablating the corneal stroma.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [1.] A process for surgically correcting presbyopia comprising:anesthetizing a patient;resecting at least a portion of a cornea of an eye of the patient to expose a corneal stroma;ablating an annular portion of the corneal stroma using radiation from a laser beam wherein during the ablat

[ I claim:] [1.] A process for surgically correcting presbyopia comprising:anesthetizing a patient;resecting at least a portion of a cornea of an eye of the patient to expose a corneal stroma;ablating an annular portion of the corneal stroma using radiation from a laser beam wherein during the ablating step, a central optical zone of the corneal stroma with a diameter as small as 1 mm is left unablated; andrepositioning the portion of the cornea onto the eye wherein a central corneal curvature change is induced to thereby correct presbyopia in the patient.