[Refractive surgery in myopia. I. Radial keratotomy]

It is stressed that in myopia one performs 2 kinds of operation: therapeutical and for a change in refraction. Not only surgical methods but also the aim of operation are basically different. The author present the foundation, the development of the method, the up-to-date results of operation and complications connected with the radial keratotomy which is not therapeutical but refractive operation. Especially precisely are presented the qualification criteria for the surgery which are basing mainly on a--conceived on a large scale--American PERK study.