Microkeratome
A motorized instrument with an oscillating steel blade mounted on a carriage that advances across a suction ring fixed to the eye, cutting corneal tissue to a preset depth.
How it is used
Cuts the hinged corneal flap in LASIK refractive surgery, applying suction to the eye to raise and flatten the cornea before the blade advances; a mechanical alternative to femtosecond-laser flap creation.
Clinical tip
Used after the corneal marker (which has already marked orientation): the microkeratome cuts the flap, and the marks allow it to be correctly repositioned at the end.
Sources
This entry is part of the Instriq catalog, researched and written per specialty from real web research -- never generated or invented without verification -- and reviewed skeptically and independently before publication. How this catalog is written.