subject: What Is Conductive Keratoplasty (ck)? Information About Ck Eye Surgery [print this page] Conductive keratoplasty (also known as CK) is a refractive surgery procedure that is used to treat hyperopia (farsightedness) and presbyopia (a form of farsightedness). Just like with LASIK eye surgery, CK is used in order to correct the way that the eye receives light and thus allows you to process what you see. Many people can have hyperopia, and presbyopia can occur as people age. The eyes lens loses some of its natural elasticity, thus making it less able to take in light properly. Images that are nearby can become blurry.
CK is not a form of laser eye surgery like LASIK or PRK. Instead, during a CK procedure, a probe with a very fine needle tip is used to deliver heat energy to the eye. This energy comes in the form of radio waves. The probe is touched to the cornea and radio waves are then transmitted through it into the eye. This creates a very small amount of heat which helps to reshape the areas. The probe is touched in different spots on the eye. Eventually these small areas heal and gently tighten when doing so. This tightening helps to change the shape of the cornea, thus improving ones vision.
Each spot is carefully chosen in order to offer the best vision improvement possible. This type of refractive surgery may only have temporary effects though, so you may need additional treatment later on should your vision problems return. Conductive keratoplasty is a good choice for people who simply have trouble seeing things that are close, most often for people who are over 40 years old. Conductive keratoplasty also has extremely rare side effects and risks. It takes only a few minutes and is painless. Patients often report experiencing no discomfort at all during their CK procedure.
If you are considering refractive surgery and are over 40 with hyperopia or presbyopia, you may want to talk to your doctor about a CK procedure.
