Resumen

ROJAS ALVAREZ, Eduardo  y  GONZALEZ SOTERO, Janet. Excimer laser and confocal microscopy: technological platforms of the future vision . MEDISAN [online]. 2013, vol.17, n.2, pp. 344-3563. ISSN 1029-3019.

Introduction: refractive surgery is a subspecialty of the ophthalmology, responsible for the surgical procedures aimed at treating refractive defects. Objectives: to explain the general principles of functioning of the corneal confocal microscopy, to describe the microscopic features of normal cornea by confocal microscopy and to enunciate general theoretical aspects related to the excimer laser technology. General principles: confocal microscopy is a non-invasive method for studying microscopic images in living tissues, where the lighting and detection are in the same focal plane; moreover, the light is reflected and passes through a second objective lens. The excimer laser uses controlled ultraviolet light power pulses of 193 nm wavelength to apply ablation on the stromal tissue, which produces a refractive excision pattern and generates new curvature radii. Also, the term excimer is a single diatomic chemical form that only exists in excited state for a short time. Conclusions: the study of the cornea by confocal microscopy allows the differentiation of the epithelial sublayers, subbasal nervous plexus, keratocytes and stromal nerves, as well as corneal endothelial cells. The excimer laser facilitates the shaping of the corneal curvature to achieve a refractive outcome with minimal disruption to the surrounding tissue, so internationally it has become the prevailing surgical technique for the treatment of ametropies.

Palabras clave : cornea; confocal microscopy; excimer laser.

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