A serious visual impairment, as a result of which the ability to clearly see objects is lost, is classified as astigmatism. The disease develops in connection with changes in the cornea or lens. When making such a diagnosis, patients may be prescribed wearing glasses or lenses, but such measures will not help cope with the disease. In order for the course of treatment to lead to the desired result, surgical intervention is necessary. In today's article, this disease will be examined in detail, and it will also be determined by what methods it can be cured.
Indications and contraindications
As medical practice shows, to achieve a pronounced effect in the treatment of astigmatism is possible only with the help of eye surgery. With astigmatism, it is prescribed in the following situations:
- When a person decides to get rid of his vision problems once and for all.
- The patient flatly refuses to wear glasses.
- Intolerance to contact optics is observed.
- Professional activities require high-quality vision (for example, a driver or train driver).
- Astigmatism is diagnosed in combination with hyperopia.
- In violation of visual acuity from three diopters.
- When making a diagnosis, abnormal astigmatism is detected.
When making a diagnosis such as astigmatism, an operation can only be done if the patient's condition meets the following conditions:
- If a person suffers from diabetes, the glucose level must first be stabilized.
- With hypertension, the level of blood pressure is pre-stabilized.
- The patient does not have oncological, infectious diseases, as well as inflammatory eye diseases.
- For twelve months, refraction does not change.
- Refractive indices up to plus five diopters.
- The age of a person preparing for surgery exceeds eighteen years.
In what cases is eye surgery for astigmatism contraindicated? In addition, the operation can be canceled if the patient has an unstable mental state that makes it impossible to establish contact with a person. Surgical intervention is contraindicated if a person suffers from the following diseases:
- type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus;
- progressive myopia;
- diseases of the visual system of an inflammatory nature;
- in diagnosing glaucoma or cataracts.
A contraindication to surgery is also pregnancy. If a person is diagnosed with astigmatism, an operation can only be done after a complete examination and determination of the patient’s health. Only if there are no contraindications, you can count on a positive outcome. If a person has contraindications for the operation, then in this case the specialist selects an alternative method of treatment.
Operation benefits
When a person is diagnosed with astigmatism, surgery is performed in the age range of 18 to 45 years. Surgical intervention in this case lasts no more than fifteen minutes. In addition, the advantage is that the operation is performed under local anesthesia, and the local anesthetic solution is well tolerated by the body and completely eliminates the pain.
This treatment also differs in that it does not cause any complications, and the recovery period lasts for a rather short period of time. Immediately after surgery, a person begins to see well. The final normalization of vision occurs within the first seven days. As practice shows, loss of vision or its deterioration after surgery has never been recorded. Surgery is performed on an outpatient basis.
Astigmatic keratotomy
When diagnosed with astigmatism, surgery can be performed using different methods. Astigmatic keratotomy is considered one of the first external treatments. After the breakthrough in the field of high technologies, the opinions of experts were very divided. Many refuse this method, explaining this by the high probability of developing complications after it in the patient.
Keratotomy is as follows:
- the doctor makes special notes on the patient’s eye;
- then with the help of a diamond knife makes an incision of the cornea of the eye;
- the depth and number of microcuts in each individual case is determined by the doctor individually.
The duration of such an operation does not exceed five minutes. Such an intervention is prohibited for people suffering from cancer, with inflammation of the intraorbital location, infection and dermatitis, as there is a possibility of introducing a secondary infection. Keratotomy for persons under eighteen years of age is also prohibited.
If astigmatism is characterized by myopia, surgery (astigmatic keratotomy) will help to change the curvature of the cornea and correct the situation.
Photorefractive keratectomy
What is it for? In order to cure astigmatism, laser surgery is a great option. It is carried out without a direct effect on the internal structure of the eyes. Thanks to this method, it was possible to achieve accurate and positive results. This effect is achieved as a result of evaporation of the tissues of the surface layer of the cornea.
Another advantage of performing photorefractive keratectomy is that micro-sections are not made on the eye. Despite the huge number of advantages, this surgical intervention also has disadvantages. They consist in the fact that the operation is forbidden to carry out immediately on both eyes.
The essence of photorefractive keratectomy is as follows:
- special anesthetic drops are dripped into the patient's eye;
- then the eyes with the help of an eyelid extender prevent from blinking;
- with the help of a laser, the surface layers of the cornea are removed, and then new ones are formed;
- eyes are washed with a special solution.
After the operation, a recovery period begins, during which the patient is recommended to wear special protective lenses.
Thermokeratocoagulation
How is this operation performed? The essence of this method is that micro-burns are applied to the cornea using a hot needle. Currently, in the treatment of astigmatism, surgery is performed not using a needle, but using laser correction. This method of therapy is used extremely rarely, since currently there are more modern and effective methods.
With this method, hyperopia is treated. Before the operation, intraocular pressure, vision, eye length, the optical strength of the cornea are necessarily measured, and the degree of development of astigmatism is also determined.
Phakic lens implantation
If a person is diagnosed with complex astigmatism, surgery requires a special approach. In this case, the patient is prescribed implantation of phakic lenses. The essence of this method is that the doctor inserts the phakic lens into the posterior or anterior chamber of the eye. After the introduction, it neatly straightens and fixes. Seams in this case are not applied.
Such surgical intervention is carried out within fifteen minutes and does not require hospitalization, since the sutures are not overlapping. For anesthesia, drip anesthesia is used.
Keratoplasty
Quite often, keratoplasty surgery is performed with astigmatism. Its essence lies in the fact that a complete replacement of the changed cornea with an artificial or donor one is carried out. In most cases, the new cornea takes root well, but there are situations when rejection occurs. Corneal keratoplasty is prescribed to patients if other methods are not recommended for one reason or another.
Lens prosthetics
Surgery, which involves prosthetics, is performed under local anesthesia. After the patient does not feel pain, he undergoes a lens replacement and implantation of an intraocular lens.
In order for all the work to be carried out, access is provided on the cornea. This is achieved as a result of the incision of the lens capsule. Regardless of how astigmatism is treated, there must be a recovery period after surgery. At this time, the patient is required to strictly comply with all the recommendations of his attending physician.
Recovery period
If an operation was performed, vision with astigmatism is restored almost immediately. But, despite this, the patient must undergo a rehabilitation course for complete recovery. The recovery process directly depends on the method of surgical intervention.
If a person underwent astigmatic keratectomy, then in this case he is prescribed antibacterial therapy, as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. After thermokeratocoagulation, the patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory drops.
In each individual case, preparations for rehabilitation are selected purely individually, not only depending on the method of surgical intervention, but also on the individual characteristics of the body and the course of the pathology.
Among other things, there are general recommendations that should be followed regardless of the type of operation. They are as follows:
- during the first three days it is strictly forbidden to wet your eyes, and also to sleep face-down in a pillow;
- after surgery, the first two weeks are not recommended to use cosmetics;
- during the first three months should limit the visual load;
- the first one and a half months, going out into the street, it is necessary to wear sunglasses and limit the lifting of weights.
Sport
As for the opportunity to play sports, this issue is decided in each individual case purely individually. However, in most cases, physical activity on the muscles is not prohibited.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that astigmatism is quite effectively treated, it is considered a very dangerous disease, since it is impossible to get rid of it without surgical intervention. Often, specialists prescribe glasses or contact lenses to their patients, but this method will not relieve the ailment, but only for a short period of time will correct vision.
When the first signs of astigmatism appear, treatment should begin as early as possible, since only timely access to qualified medical help will help to avoid numerous complications and blindness. The method of surgical intervention is determined in each case purely individually, depending on the stage and form of the disease. After the operation, it is imperative to follow all the recommendations of your doctor, as only in this way you can avoid the development of complications and shorten the recovery period.