| abstract |
The invention provides near-term customized ablation capabilities for treatment of corneal irregularities by ablating laterally offset refractive therapy profiles. These treatment profiles may, when centered on the eye, be suitable for treatment of standard refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, and cylindrical astigmatism. By selectively offsetting one or more of these ablation profiles at selected points across the corneal surface, the laser system can reduce refractive errors resulting from corneal irregularities such as irregular astigmatism, corneal steepening in one quadrant, asymmetrical astigmatism, irregularities inadvertently produced by a prior refractive treatment (such as radial keratotomy incisions, a decentered ablation, or the like), granular dystrophy, diffuse, asymmetric warpage as a result of post-corneal transplants, bilateral keratoconus, penetrating keratoplasty, or the like. |