Excimer Laser Surgery of the Cornea

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9394(14)71911-7Get rights and content

The excimer laser, which produces light in the far-ultraviolet portion of the spectrum, allows precise removal of corneal tissue through a photochemical laser-tissue interaction. This interaction is not thermal and does not involve optical breakdown; rather, it directly breaks organic molecular bonds without tissue heating.

We used this process of ablative photodecomposition to remove corneal tissue in a series freshly enucleated cow eyes. Applying the far-ultraviolet light in short intense pulses permitted us to control the depth of the incision with great precision. We found that 1 joule/cm2 ablates corneal tissue to a depth of 1 μm. Adjacent tissue suffered no thermal damage and the stromal lamellae adjacent to the incision showed no evidence of disorganization.

References (6)

  • F.A. L'Esperance
  • S.L. Trokel
  • C.H.K. Rhodes
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

Reprint requests to Stephen L. Trokel, M.D., Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 635 W. 165th St., New York, NY 10032.

View full text