Conductive Keratoplasty (CK)

Conductive keratoplasty, also known as CK or near-vision CK, differs from LASIK surgery in several ways. Most notably, it uses radio waves rather than a laser to reshape the cornea. CK treats farsightedness and presbyopia.

CK usually involves reshaping the cornea of the non-dominant eye to see close up for reading, and the dominant eye for distance, if distance correction is neaded. The process shrinks the collagen on the outer edges of the cornea to reshape it. It’s a short procedure that takes only a few minutes per eye. It is a minimally invasive procedure with few complications and risks.

The disparity between the two eyes takes a short while to adjust to, and may decrease depth perception; however, most people adapt quickly and have no problems with adjusting to either change. Both eyes are treated in the same visit. This painless procedure can produce immediate results, allowing you to read without glasses immediately.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 40, have a stable lens prescription, no eye-disease that can interfere with healing, and your eyes tear normally, you may be a good candidate for CK.

If you are interested in vision correction, and getting rid of your glasses or contacts, please contact Dr. Harvey Carter at the Carter Eye Center in Dallas for your free consultation appointment. Whether or not you qualify for CK, there are many solutions for better vision, regardless of your age, or other factors.

Selecting a LASIK Surgeon

Selecting an eye surgeon best qualified to perform LASIK is not nearly as difficult as it might seem. Selecting any surgeon requires careful research, and there are a number of steps you can take to ensure that you choose an eye surgeon wisely.

One of the first things we tend to do is ask around. Word-of-mouth recommendations are valuable, and you can learn a lot about a doctor, his clinic, staff, and care by speaking to former patients. But, sooner or later you will find a disgruntled patient. Bear in mind that some people are never satisfied and always manage to find fault with everything. On the other hand, give careful consideration to what their complaint is and try to determine if they contributed to the problem and how. In other words, use caution and “consider the source.”

Another step is to research LASIK, carefully, to learn what is involved in the procedure, and what you can expect regarding results, recovery, discomfort, improvement, and possible alternatives to LASIK.

You want to evaluate potential surgeons based upon their professional qualifications, experience, and other attributes. Most eye surgeons make their training, credentials and affiliations known. When you find one you think you may want as your surgeon, be prepared to ask him questions to help you decide for certain. Check out this free, downloadable, PDF file of 50 questions you can ask you physician.

Dr. Harvey Carter and his staff at the Carter Eye Center in Dallas are among the most highly qualified and experienced eye surgeons in North Texas. Dr. Carter performed the first laser refractive correction in North Texas, and has earned many honors in his field. In addition, he was invited to be a core investigator in the International Society for Refractive Surgery’s American LASIK study, in 1996.

Dr. Carter is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, and has over 20 years of experience treating tens of thousands of LASIK patients. Please visit his site to learn more about LASIK, Dr. Carter and his staff, and to contact him for a free consultation. Don’t forget to ask about his “20/20 or it’s free” offer.

LASIK Misconceptions

LASIK is improving over time. New techniques and equipment are constantly being researched in an ongoing effort to find new and better ways to help people achieve better health and better vision. There is much misinformation circulating about surgical procedures. Often this comes from dated articles that people read about LASIK, or information they learned from their doctors, family or friends, months or even years ago. What they knew then may no longer be the case.

Some of the misconceptions include:

• Thinking your eyesight is too bad for LASIK to help you
• LASIK doesn’t correct astigmatism
• Thinking you are too young, or too old, for LASIK
• Thinking you’ll still have to wear glasses after LASIK, anyway
• Vision requirements of your job disqualify you for LASIK
• Your doctor has told you, in the past, that you don’t qualify for LASIK

New products, ones that were formerly in research and development stages, have been approved by the FDA and are now on the market. Researchers are continually studying the eye, eye disease and aberrations, and are continually finding new ways to treat these.

If you have always wished there was a way to improve your vision and to eliminate the need for glasses or contacts, see a qualified eye surgeon for a complete examination and discussion of new methods that might work for you. What couldn’t be done just a few years ago, is being done for thousands of people today.

The Carter Eye Center in Dallas has a staff that is qualified to let you know, based upon your examination, what corrective procedures are best for you. Please contact us today for more information, or call us at 1-800-950-2020.

Am I a Candidate for Crystalens®

Crystalens® is an Accommodating Intraocular Lens (IOL) that differs from other IOLs. Because it is controlled naturally, using your eye muscles, it is able to move and accommodate vision to see at variable distances. It is a wonderful corrective solution for both presbyopia and cataracts. Although presbyopia and cataracts are two entirely different anomalies of the eye, they both involve the ocular lens.

In presbyopia, the lens loses its ability to accommodate or change its shape to focus clearly between near and far. This is a normal aging effect and is seen most often in people over 40. It generally affects both eyes.

Cataracts are clumps of protein whose density creates a cloudy area in the lens that blurs vision. Cataracts can occur in one or both eyes, and can result from aging or from trauma to the eyes. In the case of trauma, cataracts may develop earlier in life.

Crystalens® IOLs are implanted, replacing the natural lens. This procedure attaches the IOL to the eye muscles and allows these muscles to move the lens to accommodate focus changes between near and far vision. A recent improvement to Crystalens® is the FDA approved HD model that provides better contrast sensitivity and depth of focus. Most patients can see well at all focal ranges without the need for glasses, at all. Read more about Crystalens®.

Dr. Harvey Carter of the Carter Eye Center in Dallas was the first U.S. surgeon to implant Crystalens® after the FDA approved its use, and has performed more Crystalens® implants than any eye surgeon in the world. If you would like to know more about the Crystalens® procedures, please contact the Carter Eye Center for a free consultation.