State-of-the-art vision correction procedure

If you are using reading glasses to read this article, you may be a candidate for this exciting new procedure.

NearVision CK or Conductive Keratoplasty is the first non-laser vision procedure approved by the US Food and Drug Administration that may reduce your need for reading glasses. It is like turning back the clock on your vision by 10 years.

This procedure is now available at the Vision Laser Center of St. Luke’s Medical Center. This latest addition to St. Luke’s, the only hospital in Manila that offers CK, is an affirmation of the hospital’s commitment to deliver excellent healthcare through caring and highly competent professionals utilizing world-class technology and research.

CK uses radiofrequency (RF) energy to reshape the surface of the eye (cornea). When the shape is changed, light can be refocused on the correct part of the eye (retina).

To produce this reshaping, CK uses controlled release of RF energy to heat and shrink corneal tissue. This steepens the cornea and allows light to properly focus on the retina again.

There is no cutting involved and takes only three to five minutes. It is an outpatient procedure, done using eyedrop anesthesia and is virtually painless. No patch is placed and best of all, the result is immediately apparent.

Our eyes are made to last only 40 years. Most people who have clear vision all their lives will need reading glasses in order to read the text on their cellphones, menu, newspapers, price tags, when they hit 40.

This condition is called presbyopia. This happens because the natural lens inside the eye loses its flexibility, hence affecting the "auto-focusing" mechanism of the eye when you have to do near work.

NearVision CK works by creating "blended vision." This improves your ability to focus on near objects without sacrificing distance vision in the treated eye. This makes it easier for you to adjust to the two separate images.

Only the non-dominant eye is treated with CK and this will make the treated eye slightly nearsighted. The procedure, however, does not permanently eliminate the need for reading glasses in the future since the eye will continue to age. But it does not delay or reduce your need for reading glasses for years.

Not all patients above 40, however, are candidates. Stringent pre-operative evaluation has to be done to determine eligibility. Preliminary criteria include over the age of 40, wearing reading glasses, have refractive error between —0.50 D and +1.0D, no significant change in vision for one year, no chronic eye disorders, not pregnant or nursing and no chronic illness or disease.

As the only hospital-based refractive surgery facility, St. Luke’s Vision Laser Center provides the safest, most competent eye care services in the country today.

Its core competency lies in its refractive surgery team, composed of highly qualified refractive surgeons with formal fellowship training in the best eye centers and universities in the US, Canada and Europe.

For inquiries about CK and other vision correction procedures, call the St. Luke’s Vision Laser Center at 723-0101 local 5449 or 4142.