Latest Breakthroughs in LASIK Surgery
LASIK or €laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis€ is a state-of-the-art refractive eye surgery which involves reshaping the cornea to refract light correctly and improve the image that is transferred to the patient's retina. Originally, the procedure was primarily developed to correct myopia or nearsightedness. Recent breakthroughs have both improved patient outcomes, reduced complications, and enabled correction of complex aspherical aberrations in the cornea.
The basic procedure of LASIK is quite elegant. At the beginning of the procedure, the eye is anesthesized and then held open with a small instrument. Subsequently, the eye surgeon places a ring over the eye and makes an incision to create a flap on the cornea, traditionally using a tiny blade called a microkeratome. The flap is folded back, and an excimer laser reshapes the cornea by controlled removal of microscopic amounts of corneal tissue. Afterwards, the flap is replaced, and the patient will be able to see immediately afterwards. There will be a few days of discomfort, but vision improvements will be evident at that point and should get better over the next few months.
There are some risks associated with LASIK, including vision problems such as seeing haloes, starbursts, multiple images, and dry eyes. One of the serious complications are vision problems associated with a poorly formed flap. Considerable research has been performed to reduce the risk of complications and improve the vision in patients using the technology.
Modern microkeratomes have enabled more precise formation of the flap to reduce risk of complications. In addition, one of the revolutionary breakthroughs in LASIK was the so-called €blade-less€ procedure, which utilizes a precision femtosecond laser to form a flap of virtually uniform thickness. This method reduces the likelihood of corneal flap malformations that can lead to future vision problems. All-laser LASIK systems include those systems bearing the IntraLase, zLASIK, FemTec VisuMax and more popularly, Epilasik monikers.
Another breakthrough in LASIK technology has been the improvement in vision utilizing complex wavefront correction. Wavefront correction utilizes a three-dimensional map of the eye to determine the optimum shape-correction required for vision improvement. This ensures much greater accuracy in removing corneal tissue, making vision better than 20/20 possible. Moreover, a wider range of vision problems can be corrected than just myopia, including astigmatism and coma.
These latest LASIK advancements also helped reduce problems with glare, haloes and poor nighttime vision after the procedure. Older LASIK techniques applied the laser primarily around or near the center of the cornea, leaving the outer parts uncorrected. These outer corneal areas are what contributed to nighttime vision problems after LASIK surgery. The newer techniques utilize the waveform correction to provide additional laser pulses to fix vision aberrations at the outer edges of the cornea.
As with most medical technologies, LASIK has continued to progress, providing better results, improved safety, and reduced complications. Newer methods enable doctors to diagnose vision aberrations by wavefront mapping, as well as to better control the precision lasers used in vision correction. These core breakthroughs are enabling a wider range of patients to enjoy the benefits of LASIK with substantially better outcomes.
The basic procedure of LASIK is quite elegant. At the beginning of the procedure, the eye is anesthesized and then held open with a small instrument. Subsequently, the eye surgeon places a ring over the eye and makes an incision to create a flap on the cornea, traditionally using a tiny blade called a microkeratome. The flap is folded back, and an excimer laser reshapes the cornea by controlled removal of microscopic amounts of corneal tissue. Afterwards, the flap is replaced, and the patient will be able to see immediately afterwards. There will be a few days of discomfort, but vision improvements will be evident at that point and should get better over the next few months.
There are some risks associated with LASIK, including vision problems such as seeing haloes, starbursts, multiple images, and dry eyes. One of the serious complications are vision problems associated with a poorly formed flap. Considerable research has been performed to reduce the risk of complications and improve the vision in patients using the technology.
Modern microkeratomes have enabled more precise formation of the flap to reduce risk of complications. In addition, one of the revolutionary breakthroughs in LASIK was the so-called €blade-less€ procedure, which utilizes a precision femtosecond laser to form a flap of virtually uniform thickness. This method reduces the likelihood of corneal flap malformations that can lead to future vision problems. All-laser LASIK systems include those systems bearing the IntraLase, zLASIK, FemTec VisuMax and more popularly, Epilasik monikers.
Another breakthrough in LASIK technology has been the improvement in vision utilizing complex wavefront correction. Wavefront correction utilizes a three-dimensional map of the eye to determine the optimum shape-correction required for vision improvement. This ensures much greater accuracy in removing corneal tissue, making vision better than 20/20 possible. Moreover, a wider range of vision problems can be corrected than just myopia, including astigmatism and coma.
These latest LASIK advancements also helped reduce problems with glare, haloes and poor nighttime vision after the procedure. Older LASIK techniques applied the laser primarily around or near the center of the cornea, leaving the outer parts uncorrected. These outer corneal areas are what contributed to nighttime vision problems after LASIK surgery. The newer techniques utilize the waveform correction to provide additional laser pulses to fix vision aberrations at the outer edges of the cornea.
As with most medical technologies, LASIK has continued to progress, providing better results, improved safety, and reduced complications. Newer methods enable doctors to diagnose vision aberrations by wavefront mapping, as well as to better control the precision lasers used in vision correction. These core breakthroughs are enabling a wider range of patients to enjoy the benefits of LASIK with substantially better outcomes.