[Are eyeglasses obsolete, or what can we expect from refractive surgery?].

Ametropia can be corrected by means of spectacles, contact lenses, or surgical alteration of the corneal curvature. Here, the pros and cons, as well as the performance of the various methods are presented along with an explanation for the continuing need for spectacles: worn by the millions, contact lenses can, if improperly used, lead to severe irritation of the conjunctiva and cornea and, if the storage fluid becomes contaminated, to infectious corneal ulceration and even to blindness. The curvature of the cornea can be changed by making incisions with a diamond-knife or laser, by performing tissue ablation with a laser, or by placing shrinking scars. When treating nearsightedness with radial keratotomy, that is, by causing lesions with a diamond-knife, the individual results are quite difficult to predict reliably. Considerable operative complications are possible. Extreme, visually impairing myopia cannot be completely corrected. This is true for the treatment of myopia by means of excimer lasers and the like. Here, long-term results from larger groups are still lacking. The current methods for refractive surgery can be considered experimental. In addition to basic research applications in the laboratory, their further development, if critically applied on a restricted clinical basis, has a promising future.