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1st
appeared 13 April 1999
UCSF Offers Non-Laser Vision Correction
Procedure for Nearsightedness
 For those who wish to reduce dependency on wearing glasses or
contacts, a new non-laser option to treat nearsightedness, called Intacs(tm), is now
available at the UCSF Beckman Vision Center, the only site in Northern California to offer
this innovative procedure.
"This procedure gives patients with myopia or nearsightedness an alternative to laser
surgical procedures and the device is removable and potentially adjustable," said
Richard Abbott, UCSF professor of clinical ophthalmology, and co-director of the UCSF
Vision Correction Center, part of the UCSF Beckman Vision Center at UCSF Stanford Health
Care.
The Vision Center is holding a free seminar this Wednesday, April 14th, from 6-7 p.m.,
dedicated to disseminating information about the newly FDA-approved KeraVision Intacs(tm)
product. The seminar will be held at the Koret Research Center, room K 302.
Abbott served as the UCSF principal investigator of the national clinical trial of
Intacs(tm), which consist of two tiny arcs of plastic made of the same material that has
been safely used in replacement lenses after cataract surgery. When surgically inserted
into the periphery or outer part of the cornea, the tiny plastic arcs flatten the cornea
to correct nearsightedness and are about as hard to detect as a contact lens.
Intacs(tm) are designed to remain permanently in the eye, but can be removed by an eye
surgeon if patients are not satisfied with their vision, if their vision changes with age,
or if they desire a new method of vision correction in the future, said Abbott. If
removed, the patient's vision usually returns to his or her vision prior to the surgery.
The procedure takes approximately 15 minutes for each eye. Patients usually notice
improvement in vision immediately after surgery.
The treatment is not for everybody, said Abbott. Candidates for this procedure should be
at least 21 years old and free of eye disease. Intacs(tm) are intended for people with
myopia between -1 and -3.5 diopters, which translates to patients with low to moderate
nearsightedness without significant amounts of astigmatism (an uneven curvature of the
cornea resulting in blurry vision).
Intacs(tm), developed by KeraVision, Inc., received FDA approval last Friday. It is the
first FDA-approved non-laser approach for the surgical treatment of nearsightedness.
For more information about the Beckman Vision Center, call 415/476-3700.
Links:
UCSF Dept. of Ophthalmology
UCSF Vision Correction Center
KeraVision Inc. |
