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Introduction to Radial Keratotomy
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY1 FRANK
W.
NEWELL,
Publisher and
Editor-in-Chief
Tribune Tower, Suite 1415, 435 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60611 EDITORIAL BOARD Thomas M. Aaberg, Milwaukee Mathea R. Allansmith, Boston Douglas R. Anderson, Miami Charles J. Campbell, New York Ronald E. Carr, New York Claes H. Dohlman, Boston Fred Ederer, Bethesda Eugene Helveston, Indianapolis Frederick A. Jakobiec, New York
Published
Herbert E. Kaufman, New Orleans Steven G. Kramer, San Francisco Carl Kupfer, Bethesda Irving H. Leopold, Irvine Robert Machemer, Durham A. Edward Maumenee, Baltimore Irene H. Maumenee, Baltimore Edward W. D. Norton, Miami G. Richard O'Connor, San Francisco Arnall Patz, Baltimore monthly
by the Ophthalmic
Deborah Pavan-Langston, Boston Steven M. Podos, New York Stephen J. Ryan, Los Angeles David Shoch, Chicago Bruce E. Spivey, San Francisco Bradley R. Straatsma, Los Angeles H. Stanley Thompson, Iowa City Gunter K. von Noorden, Houston George O. Waring, Atlanta
Publishing
Company
Tribune Tower, Suite 1415, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611 Directors: A. EDWARD MAUMENEE, President; DAVID SHOCH, Vice President; FRANK W. NEWELL, Secretary and Treasurer; EDWARD W. D. NORTON, BRUCE E. SPIVEY, BRADLEY R. STRAATSMA
INTRODUCTION T O RADIAL KERATOTOMY In 1953, during a tour of the United States, Professor Tutomo Sato of the Jutendo Medical School of Tokyo visited the University of Chicago. The usual seminar and sherry attracted a few ophthalmolo gists, and later we dined at the Quadran gle Club. It was a typical and uneventful visit, repeated at campuses everywhere. Sato discussed "A new surgical ap proach to myopia," 1 in which h e de creased the refractive power of the cen tral cornea in 32 patients. Of the final 12 patients with less than 4 diopters of myo pia, eight became emmetropic. I marvel at the stir his lecture would create today. Elsewhere in this issue are the results of two experimental studies concerning reduction of the refractive errors in myo pia, the first concerning radial incisions to appear in T H E JOURNAL since 1953. Three editorials concerning radial keratotomy follow. All ophthalmologists and their myopic patients will welcome t h e information that will permit them to con
trast t h e surgical management of minor degrees of myopia with correction by conventional or contact lenses. I enjoyed reviewing the 1953 Journal again, partic ularly the Sato contribution, and as I read it I was momentarily nostalgic for t h e earlier simplicity of professional life and ophthalmic surgery. Then I read on to find a warning concerning t h e nonsurgical treatment of cataracts with fish lens protein 2 and appreciated that progress in ophthalmology is always complicated. FRANK W. N E W E L L REFERENCES 1. Sato, T., Akiyama, K., and Shibata, H.: A n e w surgical approach to myopia. Am. J. Ophthalmol. 36:823, 1953. 2. Committee on Ophthalmology of t h e National Research Council: Special Report. Am. J. Ophthal mol. 36:996, 1953.
RADIAL KERATOTOMY IN P E R S P E C T I V E Individuals with myopia have long wanted to discard their corrective lenses,
286
W.
NEWELL,
Publisher and
Editor-in-Chief
Tribune Tower, Suite 1415, 435 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60611 EDITORIAL BOARD Thomas M. Aaberg, Milwaukee Mathea R. Allansmith, Boston Douglas R. Anderson, Miami Charles J. Campbell, New York Ronald E. Carr, New York Claes H. Dohlman, Boston Fred Ederer, Bethesda Eugene Helveston, Indianapolis Frederick A. Jakobiec, New York
Published
Herbert E. Kaufman, New Orleans Steven G. Kramer, San Francisco Carl Kupfer, Bethesda Irving H. Leopold, Irvine Robert Machemer, Durham A. Edward Maumenee, Baltimore Irene H. Maumenee, Baltimore Edward W. D. Norton, Miami G. Richard O'Connor, San Francisco Arnall Patz, Baltimore monthly
by the Ophthalmic
Deborah Pavan-Langston, Boston Steven M. Podos, New York Stephen J. Ryan, Los Angeles David Shoch, Chicago Bruce E. Spivey, San Francisco Bradley R. Straatsma, Los Angeles H. Stanley Thompson, Iowa City Gunter K. von Noorden, Houston George O. Waring, Atlanta
Publishing
Company
Tribune Tower, Suite 1415, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611 Directors: A. EDWARD MAUMENEE, President; DAVID SHOCH, Vice President; FRANK W. NEWELL, Secretary and Treasurer; EDWARD W. D. NORTON, BRUCE E. SPIVEY, BRADLEY R. STRAATSMA
INTRODUCTION T O RADIAL KERATOTOMY In 1953, during a tour of the United States, Professor Tutomo Sato of the Jutendo Medical School of Tokyo visited the University of Chicago. The usual seminar and sherry attracted a few ophthalmolo gists, and later we dined at the Quadran gle Club. It was a typical and uneventful visit, repeated at campuses everywhere. Sato discussed "A new surgical ap proach to myopia," 1 in which h e de creased the refractive power of the cen tral cornea in 32 patients. Of the final 12 patients with less than 4 diopters of myo pia, eight became emmetropic. I marvel at the stir his lecture would create today. Elsewhere in this issue are the results of two experimental studies concerning reduction of the refractive errors in myo pia, the first concerning radial incisions to appear in T H E JOURNAL since 1953. Three editorials concerning radial keratotomy follow. All ophthalmologists and their myopic patients will welcome t h e information that will permit them to con
trast t h e surgical management of minor degrees of myopia with correction by conventional or contact lenses. I enjoyed reviewing the 1953 Journal again, partic ularly the Sato contribution, and as I read it I was momentarily nostalgic for t h e earlier simplicity of professional life and ophthalmic surgery. Then I read on to find a warning concerning t h e nonsurgical treatment of cataracts with fish lens protein 2 and appreciated that progress in ophthalmology is always complicated. FRANK W. N E W E L L REFERENCES 1. Sato, T., Akiyama, K., and Shibata, H.: A n e w surgical approach to myopia. Am. J. Ophthalmol. 36:823, 1953. 2. Committee on Ophthalmology of t h e National Research Council: Special Report. Am. J. Ophthal mol. 36:996, 1953.
RADIAL KERATOTOMY IN P E R S P E C T I V E Individuals with myopia have long wanted to discard their corrective lenses,
286