Ablatable corneal inlay for correction of refractive errors and/or presbyopia

A method of correcting refractive errors and presbyopia in an eye of a patient using an ablatable corneal inlay, said method comprising:

• forming a darkened annular area in a central region of a corneal inlay so as to define a central pinhole for correcting presbyopia in a host eye of a patient, the darkened annular area being generally non-transparent;
• forming a flap or a pocket for receiving the corneal inlay in the cornea of the host eye of the patient;
• inserting the corneal inlay into the pocket or on stromal tissue exposed by the flap in the cornea of the host eye of the patient;
• modifying the shape of the corneal inlay using a laser so that the corneal inlay is capable of correcting refractive errors in the host eye of the patient;
• applying a photosensitizer to the cornea of the host eye of the patient so that the photosensitizer permeates at least a portion of the host corneal tissue surrounding the corneal inlay and/or at least a portion of the corneal inlay;
• and
• irradiating the cornea so as to activate cross-linkers in the corneal inlay and/or cross-linkers in the portion of the host corneal tissue surrounding the corneal inlay, and thereby prevent an immune response from the patient, prevent rejection of the corneal inlay by the patient, and/or strengthen the biomechanical properties of the corneal inlay;
• wherein the corneal inlay is configured to simultaneously correct refractive errors and presbyopia in the host eye of the patient.