Richard Burns, M.D.

LTK

Dr. Burns has dedicated his career to helping patients throughout Southern California achieve their vision correction goals. Dr. Burns offers a variety of sophisticated procedures, including LASIK, LASEK, PRK and LTK. He performs the Latter Procedure, Laser Thermokeratoplasty, for certain farsighted and/or astigmatic patients who desire to reduce their dependence on glasses. Dr. Burns is proud to be among the few surgeons in Southern California specializing in LTK, and he frequently performs this treatment for patients who travel from Temecula, Hemet, Sun City and Murrieta.
Please explore this page to learn more about LTK and how this procedure can help you achieve sharper, crisper vision.

What is LTK?

LTK (Laser Thermokeratoplasty) is a new procedure that has been recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of farsightedness and astigmatism in patients over 40 years of age. LTK uses a special laser that delivers heat energy to shrink and reshape the corneal tissue. As with LASIK and PRK, the goal of LTK is to correct the shape of the cornea so that it can refract light rays properly – the key to better vision. The complete San Diego LTK procedure takes only several minutes, and the actual application of laser energy lasts only for about three seconds.
If you would like to learn more about LTK and explore how you could benefit from this treatment, contact us or schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Burns.

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LTK Procedure

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Pre-Operative Consultation

During your pre-operative consultation, Dr. Burns will perform a set of evaluations, including a thorough review of your health history and an assessment of your corneal thickness, refractive error and pupil dilation. He will also ask you to stop wear contact lenses at least three weeks before your LTK procedure. On the day of your LTK surgery, Dr. Burns will administer local anesthesia and put special retainers on your eyelids to prevent your eyes from closing. Then he will use a special laser to apply heat energy to the surface of your eyes. Within seconds, your LTK procedure will be complete.

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Post-Operation

After LTK, Dr. Burns will give you special antibiotic eye drops to prevent infection. In addition, you might receive anti-inflammatory drops to use for one week after the surgery. Since LTK does not involve cutting or removing eye tissue, most of our San Diego LTK patients experience very little, if any, discomfort following this procedure. Vision improvement after LTK is gradual.
During the first week following LTK, most patients experience nearsightedness; however, this is temporary. The majority of our patients achieve their best-uncorrected vision within three months following their treatment.

Alternatives to LTK

While LTK offers a very convenient, fast vision correction, this procedure is not appropriate for all patients seeking refractive laser eye surgery. Currently, it is only available for patients over the age of 40 who have a certain degree of farsightedness and/or astigmatism. In addition, the results of LTK are not permanent as most patients lose about half of the corrective benefits within two years after their LTK procedure.
Due to these reasons, the majority of patients who desire to reduce their dependence on glasses undergo LASIK, LASEK or PRK treatment. Furthermore, patients who suffer from cataracts often seek out Dr. Burns due to his reputation as a talented Cataract Surgery specialist.
As part of the surgical treatment of Cataracts, Dr. Burns provides his patients with sophisticated implantable lenses (Refractive IOLs).