[Refractive laser surgery of the cornea].

The importance of refractive corneal laser surgery is increasing. Since the introduction of the Excimer laser in 1990 approximately 350.000 eyes were treated worldwide until the end of 1996. Postoperative refraction is mainly determined by the amount of intended correction: correction of myopia of up to -6 dpt using photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) has a success rate surpassing 93%, in higher myopic corrections the success rate drops to 30%. The complication rate is also directly related to the amount of correction: with corrections of up to 6 dpt it reaches up to 3% and in corrections of over 9 dpt manifest scars occur in more than 10%. Better results in myopias over -7 dpt are achieved using the laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), which is a combination of lamellar corneal surgery and the excimer laser. With LASIK the complication rate in corrections of up to 6 dpt is higher compared to PRK. The correction of hyperopia has still a fairly low success rate with both techniques that we suppose hyperopia to be a relative contraindication for corneal laser surgery.