Refractive surgery for myopia: case selection and management options.

© The National Medical Journal of India 2014 INTRODUCTION Refraction is the change in direction of light rays when these pass from one medium to another with a different refractive index. Structures in the anterior segment of the eye, namely cornea and lens, function to focus the incoming rays of light onto the retina. Myopia (near-sightedness) is a refractive state of the eye where in a non-accommodating eye light rays from infinity are focused in front of the retina producing a blurred retinal image. Refractive errors account for 70%–90% of visual impairment in Asia, and of about 20% in the western world (USA, Europe and Australia). Spectacles and contact lenses are the principal methods for correction of refractive errors. The development of excimer laser in ophthalmology has opened a gamut of safe and effective treatment options for surgical correction of refractive errors. Much progress has been made in this field over the past two decades. This article focuses specifically on the surgical correction of myopia.