Cataract Surgery Chicago - Lake County Gurnee

Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) for Near Vision

• Why continue to struggle with reading glasses?
• Why the loss of near vision with age?

When we turn 40, our eyes begin losing their ability to easily focus on near objects. This can be the result of two different conditions:

Presbyopia: when the lens in the eye loses flexibility because of age. This causes problems in the way our eyes focus light. Most people over age 45 and everyone over age 50 suffer from this condition. We actually start to lose this lens flexibility as children, however, it is only after age 45 or so that it progresses to the point where our eyes are too short to compensate.

Farsightedness (hyperopia): when the surface of the eye (cornea) is too flat, changing the way our eye focuses light. Young eyes are often strong enough to compensate, which is why it may only be a problem after age 40.

How Near Vision CK works

CK can change how the eye focuses light by reshaping the surface of your eye (cornea). When the shape is changed, light can be refocused on the correct part of your eye (retina).

To produce this reshaping, CK uses the controlled release of radio frequency (RF) energy to heat and shrink corneal tissue. This steepens the cornea and allows light to properly focus on the retina again, improving near vision. The actual procedure usually takes less than two minutes. It is quite comfortable using only eyedrops for anesthesia.