Of all the subspecialties within ophthalmology, refractive surgery may be evolving the most rapidly. Accordingly, the current edition features a number of updates, including a greater emphasis on femtosecond ­lasers and advances in intraocular lens technology. The terminology for recording visual acuity is also changing, and the BCSC Section 13 Committee now uses the following conventions throughout the text: uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), which replaces best-­ corrected visual acuity (BCVA).

Considerations in the evaluation of new refractive surgical procedures are broadly predicated upon safety, efficacy, applicability, and endurance. Consensus standard report­ ing mea­sures for outcomes in refractive surgery have been proposed, and we recommend that readers familiarize themselves with ­these standards when critically reviewing new technologies in the lit­er­a­ture.

Refractive surgeons, like all medical specialists, also use numerous abbreviations and acronyms in discussing and describing their field. The following list of frequently used terms is included as an aid to readers of this text as well as of the refractive surgery lit­er­ a­ture in general.

Reinstein DZ, Waring GO 3rd. Graphic reporting of outcomes of refractive surgery. J Refract Surg. 2009;25(11):975–978.

ACS  anterior ciliary sclerotomy

AHWP  Asian Harmonization Working Party (for device regulation)

AK  arcuate keratotomy

ArF  argon-­fluoride (­laser)

ASA  advanced surface ablation (synonym for photorefractive keratectomy, PRK)

BCVA  best-­corrected visual acuity (preferred term is corrected distance visual acuity, CDVA)

CCD  charge-­coupled device

CCL  corneal crosslinking (also CXL)

CDVA  corrected distance visual acuity (formerly called best-­corrected visual acuity, BCVA)

CE mark  Conformité Européenne mark (product approval used in Eu­ro­pean countries, similar to US Food and Drug Administration approval)

CK  conductive keratoplasty

CXL  corneal crosslinking (also CCL)

D  diopter

DALK  deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty

DLK  diffuse lamellar keratitis

DMEK  Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty

DSEK  Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty

EDOF  extended depth of focus (intraocular lens)

Epi-­LASIK  epipolis ­laser in situ keratomileusis

Femto-­LASIK  femtosecond ­laser–­assisted ­laser in situ keratomileusis

FLEx  femtosecond lenticule extraction

GAT  Goldmann applanation tonometry

GHTF  Global Harmonization Task Force (international medical device regulation)

HDE  Humanitarian Device Exemption

Hex K  hexagonal keratotomy

HOA  higher-order aberration

Ho:YAG  holmium:yttrium-­aluminum-­garnet (­laser) logMAR  base-10 logarithm of the minimum ­angle of resolution

ICL  implantable collamer lens

ICRS  intrastromal corneal ring segment

IOL  intraocular lens

IOP  intraocular pressure

I–­S  inferior–­superior (value)

KC  keratoconus

LAL  Light Adjustable Lens

Introduction to Section 13

LASEK  ­laser subepithelial keratomileusis

LASIK  laser in situ keratomileusis

LRI  limbal relaxing incision

LTK  ­laser thermokeratoplasty

LVC  ­laser vision correction

MFIOL  multifocal intraocular lens

MRSE  manifest refraction spherical equivalent

Nd:YAG  neodymium:yttrium-­aluminum-­garnet (­laser)

OBL  opaque bubble layer

OCT  optical coherence tomography

OSC  ocular surface disease

OSDI  Ocular Surface Disease Index

PCO  posterior capsule opacification

PERK  Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (study)

PIOL  phakic intraocular lens

PISK  pressure-­induced stromal keratopathy

PKP  penetrating keratoplasty

PMD  pellucid marginal degeneration

PMMA  polymethyl methacrylate

PRK  photorefractive keratectomy

PROWL  Patient-­Reported Outcomes With ­Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (studies)

PTA  percent of tissue altered

PTK  phototherapeutic keratectomy

ReLEx  refractive lenticule extraction

RGP  rigid gas-­permeable (contact lenses)

RK  radial keratotomy

RLE  refractive lens exchange

RMS  root mean square

RSB  residual stromal bed

SA  spherical aberration

SIM K  corneal power (K) simulation mea­sure­ments

SMILE  small-­incision lenticule extraction

UCVA  uncorrected visual acuity (preferred term is uncorrected distance visual acuity, UDVA)

UDVA  uncorrected distance visual acuity (also called uncorrected visual acuity, UCVA)

WAMR  wavefront-adjusted manifest refraction

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