Get Radial Keratotomysurgical Procedurebritannica.com

Radial keratotomy correction is indicated for patients with moderate myopia. Patients should be at least 18 years of age because they require stable refraction and be able to provide informed consent for surgery.

RK is still performed on patients who have low to moderate degrees of nearsightedness and simply cannot afford the more expensive laser and surgical correction procedures.

Postoperative complications include glare, halos, undercorrection, overcorrection and astigmatism that may not be able to be corrected with glasses. The major disadvantage of RK compared to laser procedures is it permanently weakens the cornea.

The advantages of PRK and LASIK over RK include more precise correction of refraction and astigmatism, less scarring, glare and weakening of the cornea due to thinner layers of cornea affected, quicker healing and less discomfort.

Radial Keratotomy (often abbreviated RK) is a type of refractive surgery meant to correct myopia or nearsightedness. Developed in the 1970s in Russia, RK was the very first refractive surgical procedure to gain ground in North America.

Popular in the 1970s to 1990s radial keratotomy, or RK for short, was the most popular refractive surgery technique. Today it has been replaced with techniques such as LASIK, PRK, and SMILE as they offer more predictable results with fewer complications and adverse effects over time.

Many RK patients suffer from permanent vision damage and other long-term complications. The complications include: Weakened corneas: The corneal incisions done during RK heal in the wake of the surgery, but those sections of the cornea never regain their full strength.

Radial keratotomy correction for refractive error was a commonly performed surgical procedure in the latter part of the 20th century. This type of corneal surgery involves multiple linear incisions in the anterior cornea that cause central cornea flattening and thereby reducing its focusing power.