NEW TECHNIQUE FOR KNIFE AND RADIAL KERATOTOMY

BACKGROUND: Radial keratotomy is the most popular method of surgical c orrection of myopia, but requires further improvements. This study pre sents a new knife design for radial keratotomy. METHODS: Radial kerato tomy was performed on 120 eyes of 60 patients with myopia. We utilized two diamond knife designs. The new knife allows a surgeon to perform corneal incisions of varying programmed depth with one movement of the hand, deeper at the limbus. As a control, we used the standard Fyodor ov knife. One eye was operated on with one type of knife, the other ey e with the other type. The number of incisions was the same with both techniques. RESULTS: After a 2-year follow up of the group of eyes ope rated on with the new knife, the mean keratometric power changed from 43.20 diopters (D) to 39.30 D, and the mean amount of myopia from -4.3 7 to -0.32 D. In the group of eyes operated on with the standard knife , the mean keratometric power changed from 43.20 to 39.50 D, and the m ean amount of myopia from -4.36 to -0.40 D. CONCLUSIONS: The final ref ractive effect of the new knife was equal to that of standard knives. However, the new knife was more convenient: duration of surgery was sh orter and there was no need to change the length of the blade to deepe n the incisions during surgery.