AK is the most prevalent incisional refractive surgery in the United States . This procedure is commonly used in conjunction with cataract surgery. The incisions heal faster and optical quality of the cornea is preserved by making incisions at the limbus. The procedure is more forgiving and easy to incorporate with cataract extraction. This procedure creates a central steepening of the cornea by making six incisions in a circumferential pattern.
Current techniques avoid connecting the six incisions.
HK results have been very inconsistent and the procedure has been abandoned in the United States. The procedure is based on the use of partial thickness radial incisions in the sclera over the ciliary body which produces more room for the lens ciliary complex. This effectively increases focal power and focal depth. Currently, this procedure is in the preliminary stage of an eighteen-site formal study being carried out in seven countries. This term was first applied to Barraquer's cryolathe techniques used back in the 1960's.