Mini asymmetric radial keratotomy

Mini asymmetric radial keratotomy
File:Mini Asymmetric Radial Keratotomy (MARK).jpg MARK: micro-incisions (white) performed on the area affected by keratoconus (grey)
Specialty	{{#statements:P1995}}
ICD-9-CM	11
MeSH	D054140

Mini asymmetric radial keratotomy (MARK) is a surgical procedure used to treat keratoconus and correct astigmatism, developed by Italian eye surgeon Marco Abbondanza in 1993, then improved in 2005.

Procedure

MARK surgery consists of a series of micro-incisions of variable depth, with a length between 1.75 and 2.25 millimeters, always made with a diamond knife and a "double concentric corneal marker", designed to cause a controlled scarring of the cornea, which changes its thickness and shape. MARK is never performed on the optical zone, being done only in the area where keratoconus is localized, therefore both the flattening and the structural reinforcement of scar tissue occur only locally in the distorted zone, avoiding an excessive flattening of the cornea. Mini Asymmetric Radial Keratotomy, if done properly, is able to correct astigmatism and stabilize the first and second stages of keratoconus, avoiding the need for a corneal transplantation.

Mini asymmetric radial keratotomy can also be used in combination with corneal collagen cross-linking, parasurgical treatment for keratoconus.