A mechanical model of the cornea: the effects of physiological and surgical factors on radial keratotomy surgery.

A finite element-based computer simulation of radial keratotomy surgery was conducted to study, in particular, curvature changes of the central clear zone in human cornea under various physiological and surgical conditions. Corneal tissue was assumed to behave as a nearly incompressible, linear elastic, homogeneous, isotropic material undergoing small deformation. The Young's modulus was determined by using the model to predict the surgical outcome of a representative patient. The results of the simulation are in qualitative agreement with clinical experience indicating the potential of finite element modeling as an aid to the surgeon in evaluating variables.