There are ads everywhere claiming CK or Conductive Keratoplasty will enable you to "throw those reading glasses away!"
However, before you sign up for the surgery (or throw away your glasses), you should know that Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) can not fix the most common cause of people needing reading glasses - age-related presbyopia. Presbyopia occurs for almost everyone when they reach their early 40’s. Presbyopia is when the lens of the eye becomes rigid and loses its ability to change shape and focus on objects closer than 3’ away.
CK uses radiofrequency energy to heat and shrink corneal tissue, which steepens the cornea and reduces farsightedness. However, Conductive Keratoplasty is not capable of creating a bifocal type of result and therefore can not eliminate the need for glasses for presbyops.
Using either CK or LASIK the result for presbyopic patients is known as monovision in which one eye is focused for near and the other eye is focused for distance. However, not everyone can tolerate monovision. Furthermore the farsighted patient is never as predictable as a nearsighted patient with either CK or LASIK and the chance of regression (the need to have an enhancement procedure at a later date) is greater.
The most predictable procedure for correcting farsightedness is PRELEX. It's also the only procedure that can give a patient the bifocal effect. The risks and complications are very different with each of the procedures so it's important to learn about them all.
As with any elective surgery, becoming as informed as possible about all of your options and risks and finding the most experienced surgeon is your most important task.
If you would like to learn more about LASIK/Refractive surgery, visit our website at www.JohnGoosey.com or call our LASIK coordinator at (713) 558-8777 and schedule a free screening where I can personally answer your questions.
Dr. John D. Goosey 
Dr. John Goosey is nationally board certified and internationally known and respected as a corneal and refractive surgeon. In 1993, he began studying the use of lasers for the correction of nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) and astigmatism. He has experience with several different laser and surgical techniques. Today he is the premier LASIK surgeon in Houston, having performed tens of thousands of operations. He has previously been named among The Best Doctors in Houston by Inside Houston magazine. He has been listed as one of The Best Doctors in America for 2005-2006.
Over the past year Dr Goosey has been presented his work on corneal transplantation and refractive surgery at the 2005 World Cornea Congress in Washington, DC; at the 2005 European Refractive Society in Lisbon, Portugal; the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago; and the 2006 Pan American Ophthalmology Congress in Sao Paula, Brazil. He has written numerous book chapters on innovations in corneal transplantation for training resident ophthalmic surgeons and ophthalmic fellows.
Dr. Goosey and his wife Claire have been married for thirty-two years and have two children, Leslie and Johnny. Dr Goosey is an avid tennis player and together with his wife, Claire, actively support tennis activities in Houston.
More articles by Dr. John Goosey
Corneal Transplantation Guide
DSAEK - Descemet's Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty: a corneal transplantation technique using donor tissue
Custom LASIK with the Allegretto Wave
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