**3. Surgical therapy options or surgical procedures (refractive surgery)**

The term refractive surgery describes various elective procedures that modify the refractive status of the eye [11]. The most commonly used methods for correcting myopia are spectacle correction and contact lens wear. These conservative optical methods provide temporary correction of myopia and remain the first choice, but refractive surgery is increasing signifi‐ cantly. There are a variety of reasons why patients with myopia request refractive surgery as an alternative to contact lenses or spectacles.

These reasons may include the following [28]: (1) contact lenses may be inconvenient, not tolerated, or may be deemed unsafe; (2) spectacles may be associated with unacceptable aberrations, glare, and/or reduction of visual field, and (3) spectacles may be cosmetically unacceptable or inconvenient.

Surgical procedures have been developed in an attempt to permanently correct myopia.

The goal of refractive surgery is to correct myopia by decreasing the refractive power of the eye and to obtain a safe, predictable, stable desired refractive state new optical problems. The refractive power of the eye is reduced, by augmenting the anterior radius of curvature of the cornea (flattening the curvature of the anterior corneal surface) or by insertion of an appro‐ priate synthetic intraocular lens (IOL). Several surgical techniques are available for the treatment of myopia (www.medpagetoday.com).

Several effective options for laser refractive surgery are available to patients, which provide the opportunity to meet more of the needs of an individual patient. These techniques are divided into two groups: those involving surgery on the cornea (corneal refractive surgery) and those involving surgery on the lens (lenticular refractive surgery). Procedures that involve altering the cornea are collectively referred to as keratorefractive surgery, refractive kerato‐ plasty, or refractive corneal surgery [28].
