
Beside the conventional correction of defective vision by glasses or contact lenses more and more people in recent years have been making use of the opportunity of having surgical corrections done. During surgery the refraction of the eye is modified (refractive surgery). Surgical means in the areas of the cornea and the lens are distinguished.
Since 1983 photo refractive keratotomy (PRK) has been made use of for the corneal treatment utilising an Excimer laser which was academically acknowledged for the correction of near-sightedness up to -6 dioptre.
The most modern procedure is the laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) employing an Excimer laser. This surgical method has been in use since 1990 all over the world. It was academically acknowledged for the correction of near-sightedness (myopia) up to -8 dpt and since 1999 for the treatment of astigmatism of up to +/-3 dpt. The classification of LASIK as "academically acknowledged" took place as a result of the collective efforts of the German Ophthalmic Society (DOG) and the Professional Association of German Ophthalmologists (BVA).
In cases of high degrees of defective vision or too thin cornea the defective refraction of the eye LASIK is not suitable. Alternatively - depending on the patient's age and the clinical report - there is the option of:
- implementing an additional lens (phakic lens implantation)
- or replacing your own lens with an posterior chamber lens in the course of an antedated cataract surgery (refractive lens exchange). As of recently this kind of surgery offers the opportunity of implanting a so called multi-focal lens - the in-eye-varifocal-glasses.