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THE RECORD May/ 1994 SURGERY YIELDS BETTER VISION IN 20 MINUTES By Priti Yelaja Record staff After 30 years of depending on glasses and contact lenses to see, it took a 20-minute operation to give Bev Kennedy 20/20 vision. And the world has never looked clearer for the 45-year-old Guelph teacher, who used to be nearsighted. "It's amazing. It's given me utter and complete freedom", Kennedy said. "Before the surgery, it had gotten to the point where I needed my glasses first thing in the morning just to see the alarm clock." The operation Kennedy had last July is called radial keratotomy, and the eye surgeon who performed it, Dr. Yair Karas of Toronto, held a seminar recently in Guelph to explain the procedure to prospective patients. "One-quarter of the world's population is myopic (nearsighted)", said Karas. "Not having normal, perfect eyes is a handicap for some people. This is a cure." Kara, one of a handful of Toronto doctors qualified to do the procedure, has performed 6,000 radial keratotomy operations in the last 10 years. In the United States, more than two million such operations have been performed in the last decade. Patients must be at least 18 years old because the eyes, whose development fluctuates during childhood, need to be stable. The operation itself takes about 20 minutes and is done at Karas' Richmond Hill office. Anesthestic eye drops are given to the patient, as well as the tranquilizer Valium if the patient wants it. The surgeon makes a series of microscopic incisions on the surface of the cornea in a spoke-like pattern. The incisions reduce the front curvature of the cornea. The flattening effect causes light rays entering the eyes to focus closer to the retina, resulting in improved vision. Total recovery time is about three months, but patients can resume normal activities within days. The results are permanent. The operation sounds simple, but it's not. And while serious complications are rare, there are risks. They can include infection, although none of Karas's patients has experienced it, sensitivity to light or even the development of a farsighted condition. Occasionally a second operation is needed to reduce residual myopia. Although there is no guarantee of success, 95 per cent of Karas' karatotomy patients no longer need corrective lenses. But the more nearsighted a person is, the harder it is to make perfect incisions and create perfect focus. If the myopia is not totally corrected, patients may need to continue to wear glasses, but the lenses will be thinner than what they needed previously. Radial keratotomy is considered cosmetic surgery and is not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. Karas charges $1,800 per eye for the procedure. Despite the cost, people who require excellent vision for their jobs, such as pilots, police officers and firefighters, are opting for the procedure. "For what I save on glasses and contact lens solution, it was well worth it", Kennedy said. "My only regret is that I didn't have it done sooner." |