What is scar removal and what does it involve?

With Photo Therapeutic Keratectomy (PTK), an excimer laser phototherapeutic keratectomy surgery, it is possible to remove corneal scars both centrally and peripherally located. Corneal scars cause disruption of light penetration into the eye, similar to a dirty camera lens.

Using a laser, corneal scars can be removed. For small scars, the laser immediately removes small particles from the entire clouded area. In the case of deeper and more extensive scarring, the upper layer of the cornea (epithelium) can be removed first, and then the proper opacified parts of the cornea can be removed as precisely as possible using a laser.

Thus, corneal scar removal surgery often proceeds in two stages: in the first stage, a phototherapeutic keratectomy is performed, primarily to reduce the opacity. After some of the scar tissue is removed, the cornea will relax over the next few months. This reduces its irregular curvature, which is often treated a few months later with a second laser surgery, wavefront-guided PRK (photorefractive keratotomy).

The effectiveness of the treatments always depends on the size and depth of the scars.