National Eye Care Day | All the common methods of myopia correction you want to know are here

Editor's Note: June 6, 2024 is the 29th National Eye Care Day. This year's theme is "Pay attention to general eye health", focusing on two key groups: children, adolescents and the elderly. In order to further publicize the importance of eye health for all age groups and throughout the life cycle, this magazine will launch a manuscript solicitation and solicitation activity on the occasion of National Eye Care Day, and select excellent articles for readers.

Although myopia cannot be completely cured, timely corrective measures can effectively improve vision. Children can correct their vision and delay the development of myopia through glasses, soft/hard contact lenses, OK lenses, etc. Adults can also choose to undergo myopia surgery for treatment. Below, I will introduce several commonly used myopia correction methods.

1. Frame glasses: Wearing frame glasses is the most widely used, simplest and safest correction method. For children, the degree of myopia should be reviewed every six months to one year, and the degree of glasses should be adjusted in time.

2. Orthokeratology lenses (OK lenses): It is a reversible, non-surgical, physical correction method suitable for adolescents. Relevant studies have found that long-term wearing of orthokeratology lenses can effectively delay the elongation of the eye axis in children and adolescents during the growth and development period.

3. Soft/hard contact lenses: can be used for people with large refractive anisometropia or irregular astigmatism, helping to restore binocular vision function and promote visual development.

4. Myopia surgery: Surgical methods for correcting myopia include reducing the degree of myopia through corneal laser or implanting micro lenses in the eye. Astigmatism can also be eliminated through surgery.

There are five commonly used surgical methods:

(1) Transepithelial laser keratectomy (Trans-PRK). This method is safe, does not cause corneal incisions, and does not involve the risk of infection from negative pressure suction. It has a low risk of infection and no corneal flap-related complications, but it causes strong discomfort after surgery and slows vision recovery.

(2) Femtosecond laser-assisted excimer laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK, referred to as "half-femtosecond"). This surgery has the fastest postoperative visual recovery and high accuracy in flap thickness, but a permanent corneal flap mark is visible after surgery, and strenuous exercise such as boxing and diving should be avoided.

(3) SMILE (small incision lenticule extraction) has the advantages of flap-free, minimally invasive, low laser energy, good stability, little impact on the corneal surface, and low incidence of corneal damage. However, the operation is relatively difficult and requires a high corneal thickness.

(4) Refractive lens exchange (RLE, also known as "cataract surgery") is an intraocular refractive surgery that does not damage the corneal tissue structure or retain the original lens. Instead, an artificial lens is implanted. It is more suitable for middle-aged and elderly patients and those in the early stages of cataracts, especially for patients with presbyopia or high hyperopia.

(5) Phakic intraocular lens implantation (ICL, also known as intraocular lens). This operation is simple, safe, quick, has a wide correction range, does not damage the cornea, is highly reversible and removable, is not limited by corneal thickness, and is suitable for young patients with high myopia.

(Author: Qiao Chunyan and Kang Mengtian, Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University)