Effects of radial and circular keratotomy in rabbits

Nine rabbits underwent radial keratotomy in one eye and circular keratotomy in the other. The follow-up period ranged from 9 to 12 weeks. There was no significant change in the axial length of the eye with either type of surgery, and circular keratotomy produced no significant changes in the curvature or the refractive error of the cornea. However, radial keratotomy produced significant spherical changes in both corneal curvature (mean -3.09 D, P less than 0.01) and refractive error (mean +2.18 D, P less than 0.01); the refractive changes can be explained entirely by the changes in curvature.