Apparatus and process for recurving the cornea of an eye

A process for recurving the cornea of an eye which comprises disposing light-absorbing color bodies in the cornea according to a preselected design and thereafter vaporizing at least a portion of said design by applying energy thereto sufficient to effect vaporization thereof, and generating thereby formation of scar tissue to form corneal-recurving scars in said cornea according to said preselected design.

A process for predictably recurving the cornea of an eye which comprises embedding light-absorbing color bodies in the light-transparent stroma layer of a cornea according to a preselected patterned design and thereafter vaporizing said color bodies by applying laser-generated light energy thereto, thereby generating corneal-recurving scars in said cornea according to said preselected patterned design.

An apparatus for recurving the cornea of an eye comprising a first monochromatic light-emitting laser means, said monochromatic light being adapted to vaporize color bodies from a cornea containing said color bodies and thereby effect scar formation in said cornea, and second means associated with said first laser means to deliver said monochromatic light to said color body-containing cornea in a selected pre-calculated toroidal pattern having an outside diameter of about 12 mm. and an inner diameter of about 5 mm., whereby said scar formation corresponds to said selected pattern.