Severe visual impairment that results in the loss of the ability to see objects clearly is classified as astigmatism. The disease develops in connection with changes occurring in the cornea or lens. When such a diagnosis is made, patients may be prescribed to wear glasses or lenses, but such measures will not help to 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 considered in detail, and it will also be determined by what methods it can be cured.
Indications and contraindications
As medical practice shows, it is possible to achieve a pronounced effect in the treatment of astigmatism only with the help of eye surgery. With astigmatism, it is assigned in the following situations:
- When a person decides to get rid of a vision problem once and for all.
- Patient flatly refuses to wear glasses.
- Intolerance observedcontact optics.
- Professional activities require high-quality vision (for example, a driver or train driver).
- Astigmatism is diagnosed in combination with hypermetropia.
- In violation of visual acuity from three diopters.
- Irregular astigmatism is detected at diagnosis.
When making a diagnosis such as astigmatism, surgery can only be performed if the patient's condition meets the following conditions:
- If a person has diabetes, the glucose level must first be stabilized.
- Hypertension is pre-stabilized blood pressure.
- The patient has no oncological, infectious diseases, as well as inflammatory eye diseases.
- For twelve months, the refraction does not change.
- Refractive indices up to plus five diopters.
- The age of the person preparing for the operation exceeds the age of eighteen.
In what cases is eye surgery for astigmatism contraindicated? Among other things, the operation can be canceled if the patient has an unstable mental state that makes it impossible to establish contact with a person. Surgery is contraindicated if the person suffers from the following conditions:
- diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2;
- progressive myopia;
- diseases of the visual system of an inflammatory nature;
- when diagnosingglaucoma or cataracts.
Pregnancy is also a contraindication to surgery. If a person is diagnosed with astigmatism, surgery can be performed only after a complete examination and determination of the patient's he alth. Only if there are no contraindications, you can count on a positive outcome. If a person has contraindications to the operation, then an alternative method of treatment is selected by a specialist.
Benefits of operation
When a person is diagnosed with astigmatism, the operation is performed between the ages of 18 and 45. 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 pain.
This treatment is also different in that it does not cause any complications, and the recovery period lasts a fairly 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 making a diagnosis of astigmatism, surgery can be performed using different methods. AstigmaticKeratotomy is considered one of the first external treatments. After the breakthrough in the field of high technologies, the opinions of specialists were very divided. Many refuse this method, explaining this by the high probability of complications after it in the patient.
Keratotomy is as follows:
- doctor makes special notes on the patient's eye;
- then, using a diamond knife, makes an incision in the cornea of the eye;
- depth and number of microsections in each case is determined by the doctor individually.
The duration of such an operation does not exceed five minutes. It is forbidden to carry out such an intervention for people suffering from oncological diseases, with inflammation of the intraorbital location, infection and dermatitis, since there is a possibility of introducing a secondary infection. It is also forbidden to perform keratotomy on persons under the age of eighteen.
If astigmatism is characterized by myopia, surgery (astigmatic keratotomy) will help change the curvature of the cornea and correct the situation.
Photorefractive Keratectomy
What is it for? In order to cure astigmatism, laser surgery is an excellent option. It is carried out without direct impact 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 photorefractivekeratectomy is that microsections are not made on the eye. Despite the huge number of advantages, such a surgical intervention also has disadvantages. They lie in the fact that the operation is forbidden to be carried 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 are kept from blinking with an eyelid speculum;
- using a laser, the superficial layers of the cornea are removed, and then new ones are formed;
- eyes are washed with a special solution.
After the operation, there is a recovery period, during which the patient is recommended to wear special protective lenses.
Thermokeratocoagulation
How is this operation performed? The essence of this method lies in the fact that microburns are applied to the cornea with a hot needle. Currently, in the treatment of astigmatism, the operation is performed not with the use of a needle, but with the help of laser correction. This method of therapy is used extremely rarely, as there are currently more modern and effective methods.
Using this method, farsightedness is treated. Before the operation, intraocular pressure, vision, eye length, optical power 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, the operation requires a special approach. In suchIn this case, the patient is scheduled for implantation of phakic lenses. The essence of this method is that the doctor inserts a phakic lens into the posterior or anterior chamber of the eye. After insertion, it is gently straightened and fixed. Seams in this case are not applied.
This surgical intervention is performed within fifteen minutes and does not require hospitalization, since there are no stitches. For pain relief, drip anesthesia is used.
Keratoplasty
Quite often, keratoplasty is performed for astigmatism. Its essence lies in the fact that a complete replacement of the altered 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 for patients if other methods are not recommended for one reason or another.
Prosthetic lens
Surgical intervention, which consists of prosthetics, is performed under local anesthesia. After the patient feels no pain, the lens is replaced and an intraocular lens is implanted.
In order for all work to be carried out, access is provided on the cornea. This is achieved by cutting the lens capsule. Regardless of how astigmatism is treated, there must be a recovery period after the operation. At this time, the patient is required to strictly follow all the recommendations of his doctor.
Recovery period
If an operation was performed, vision with astigmatism is restored almost immediately. But, despite this, the patient must undergo a course of rehabilitation for a full 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 antibiotic therapy, as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. After thermokeratocoagulation, the patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory drops.
In each individual case, drugs 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 guidelines 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 with your face in the pillow;
- after the operation, it is not recommended to use cosmetics for the first two weeks;
- limit eye contact for the first three months;
- For the first month and a half, go out and wear sunglasses and limit heavy lifting.
Sports
As for the opportunity to go in for sports, this issue is decided in each individual case, purely individually. However, in most cases, exercise on the muscles is not prohibited.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that astigmatism is treated quite effectively, 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 for their patients, but this method will not cure the disease, but will only correct vision for a short time.
When the first signs of astigmatism appear, treatment should begin as early as possible, since only timely seeking qualified medical help will help to avoid numerous complications and blindness. The method of surgical intervention is determined in each individual 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 this is the only way to avoid the development of complications and shorten the recovery period.
