Does anyone know what a t-cut in the eye involves? i know its like 15 minutes per eye and such..thanks...?

i had 2 corneal transplants 1 in dec '04 and the other in aug '05...i still have astigmatism and today my surgeon who is a quack said she can do this for my problem now...thanks ahead of time!!!

Chris, PA, USA

The only reason i say she is a quack cause she left 2 deep stitches in the eye that she can't remove. she said if she removes them it will tear up my cornea and she would have to start over...we (my family) were so tempted to sue her for that...and she always runs late...that's all.

Chris--

The T-cut is a pretty standard treatment in severe astigmatism. The "T" describes the shape of the incision made into the cornea. It is usually a pretty deep incision. It works the same way as radial keratotomy. When they make a cut into the cornea to a certain depth and and in a certain shape, the cornea will heal into a different shape than it originally was.

If you think your doctor is a quack, please get a second opinion. I would certainly not trust someone of that description with eyes that are already damaged.

Buzard Incisional Astigmatism Nomograms

There are three basic incisional astigmatism nomograms presented here. Again the specific parameters and uses of these nomograms are extremely important. These nomograms are published in three basic locations, "Surgical Management of Astigmatism", Buzard KA: Medical Cornea--Corneal and Refractive Surgery, edited by Richard E. Selser, Jr., Kugler Publications,(New Orleans Academy of Ophthalmology; February 26-28, 1993), pp 87-99, "Clinical results of arcuate incisions to correct astigmatism"; Buzard, Laranjeira and Fundingsland in The Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, vol22, #8, p1062 Oct 1996 and in the book on Astigmatism written by Dr Buzard and Troutman, "Corneal Astigmatism: Etiology, Prevention, and Management", CV Mosby, published 1992, Richard Troutman, M.D., Kurt Buzard, M.D. Two basic paradigms are presented. The T-cut nomograms use short (2-2.5mm) incisions and vary the optical zone to obtain different effects. The arcuate nomograms use a constant 7mm optical zone and vary the length to obtain different effects. All astigmatic incisions are made shallow with 80% depth incisions. The first nomogram is to be used specifically with RK and one can see that for a given optical zone, more effect will be obtained in a cornea with an RK than for T-cuts performed in a cornea without RK as seen in the second nomogram for virgin (without RK) corneas. Finally the last nomogram is for arcuate incisions and used for larger degrees of astigmatism, of particular use after cataract surgery. Note no incisions are made larger than 90 degrees and in fact incisions larger than 60 degrees are discouraged as a primary operation in patients older than 65 years old.