Keratomileusis by Barraquer, Followed by RK

These 2 photos were taken of the same right cornea but with different optical systems. In the early 1970’s this eye underwent a refractive surgical procedure known as “Keratomileusis”. This refractive surgery was the “grandfather” of all refractive surgeries and was developed by Dr. Jose Barraquer in the 1960’s. Keratomileusis is a surgical procedure in which a slice of the patient’s cornea is removed, frozen and reshaped on a lathe and then sutured back on the remaining cornea to correct the refractive error of the eye. Dr. Barraquer was the only doctor in the world to do this procedure and when he passed away many years ago, this surgery ceased to be done. Note the circular outline going around the inner portion of the cornea. This represents the portion of the cornea that was removed, reshaped and sutured back onto the underlying corneal tissue. About 15 years later, this same eye underwent Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery. Note the 8 horizontal and vertical incisions extending from the periphery of the cornea onto the central cornea. Needless to say, the vision in this eye has been severely reduced for over 40 years. This eye was fit with a scleral lens which is allowing this patient to see clearly and comfortably once again after all these years.