EYE DISORDERS - Medicine for Mountaineering and Other Wilderness Activities - page 204

are not venturing to these altitudes, this suggests LASIK is an excellent and stable option
for refractive correction.
Figure 15-3. Effect of altitude on cornea after radial keratotomy (RK): Circumferential expansion
from edema causes peripheral steepening with corresponding central flattening. 1
Radial Keratotomy
Radial keratotomy (RK) is a form of surgical therapy for refractive errors that is no
longer used. Climbers over the age of forty-five who may have undergone this procedure
when they were younger should be aware of possible complications at altitude ( Fig. 15-3 ) .
Hyperopic (farsighted) vision changes in RK eyes at altitude have been reported in a num-
ber of individuals, including Beck Weathers, who has said that his well-known trouble on