Claims
- 1. A method of performing a laser refractive surgical procedure, comprising the steps of:
a) raising an intraocular pressure of a eye having a cornea to around 80 mm Hg or higher; b) contacting the cornea with a blade; c) advancing the blade across the cornea so that the blade penetrates an epithelium and a Basement Membrane of the cornea so as to expose but not penetrate a Bowman's Membrane of the cornea; and d) irradiating the Bowman's Membrane and underlying stromal tissue with ablative laser radiation to effect a refractive change in the cornea.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the blade contains a blunt tip.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the blade has a flat section and a rounded section and the blunt tip separates the flat section from the rounded section.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the blade is oscillated at an oscillation frequency of approximately between 5,000 revolutions/minute and approximately 20,000 revolutions/minute.
- 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the oscillation frequency is approximately between 8,000 revolutions/minute and 14,000 revolutions/minute.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the blade is advanced across the cornea at a speed of approximately between 1.0 millimeter/second and 2.0 millimeters/second.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the blade is advanced across the cornea at a speed of approximately 1.5 millimeters/second.
- 8. A method of performing a laser refractive surgical procedure, comprising the steps of:
a) raising an intraocular pressure of a eye having a cornea to around 80 mm Hg or higher; b) contacting the with a blade, the blade oscillated at an oscillation frequency of approximately between 5,000 revolutions/minute and 20,000 revolutions/minute, the intraocular pressure of the eye being raised to 80 mm Hg or higher; c) advancing the blade across the cornea at a speed of approximately between 1.0 millimeter/second and 2.0 millimeters/second so that the blade penetrates an epithelium and a Basement Membrane of the cornea so as to expose but not penetrate a Bowman's Membrane of the cornea; and d) irradiating the Bowman's Membrane and underlying stromal tissue with ablative laser radiation to effect a refractive change in the cornea.
- 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the blade contains a blunt tip.
- 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the blade has a flat section and a rounded section and the blunt tip separates the flat section from the rounded section.
- 11. The method of claim 8 wherein the oscillation frequency is approximately between 8,000 revolutions/minute and 14,000 revolutions/minute.
- 12. The method of claim 8 wherein the blade is advanced across the cornea at a speed of approximately 1.5 millimeters/second.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/114,834, filed Apr. 3, 2002, currently co-pending.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10114834 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
Child |
10235302 |
Sep 2002 |
US |