Myopia and radial keratotomy: a survey among Norwegian ophthalmologists

Abstract

One hundred and eighty-nine of 200 ophthalmologists in Norway responded to a survey requesting them to report their age, sex, refractive state, use of corrective lenses, and if myopic, their view on radial keratotomy as a possible method to correct their own myopia. According to the answers, 32 (17%) females and 154 (82%) males, with mean age of 49 years, were registered. The reported refractive state was 26.5% emmetropy and 72.0% ametropy. The prevalence of myopia was 45%. The mean refractive status (equivalent sphere) in the right eye was -1.02 +/- 2.28 D with a range from -8.5 D to +7.25 D (n = 184). Of the ametropes, 64.8% used spectacles, 15.3% used both spectacles and contact lenses, whilst 3.6% used only contact lenses for distance vision. With the exception of one, all myopes used corrective lenses. Only 2 myopic ophthalmologists responded positively to the question of whether they would consider having radial keratotomy to correct their own myopia.