Laser Eye Surgery
When most think about laser eye surgery, they immediately think about LASIK. While it is true that LASIK is a type of laser eye surgery, there are a number of other laser procedures that can produce equally successful results for individuals affected by myopia ( nearsightedness ), hyperopia ( farsightedness ), and astigmatism. In fact, there are really four different types of laser eye surgery : PRK, LASIK, customized LASIK, and LASEK.
PRK, or photorefractive keratectomy, was the process to be approved by the FDA for reshaping the cornea of the eye using a laser. PRK gets use from a specialised cool laser beam, called an excimer laser, to remove excess corneal tissue. The removal of this tissue corrects the shape of the eye so that light entering the eye can be correctly focused on the retina. The outer surface layer of the called, called the epithelium, is removed to expose the underlying corneal tissue. Once this tissue is disclosed, the excimer laser is used to reshape the cornea. The main excellence between PRK and LASIK is that PRK doesn’t make use of a corneal flap. Instead, the epithelium is permitted to steadily heal thru the body’s natural healing process. To protect the exposed cornea, surgeons fit patients with a light-weight contact lens to serve as a bandage for the eye. The contact lens also decreases pain. The lens is usually only worn for a few days, two to three days post-operative, at which time the eye is permitted to heal as normal with no bandage.
LASIK is the most widely known and performed type of laser eye surgery in the U. S. . LASIK stands for Laser assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis, which means to’reshape the cornea from within employing a laser’. LASIK differs from PRK in that a small flap is made in the stroma of the eye. This flap, made by either a microkeratome or IntraLase, is then peeled back to reveal the underlying corneal tissue. An excimer laser is then used to reshape the cornea to fix any refractive errors. Once the cornea has been reshaped, the cornea flap is put back to place and smoothed out. The flap acts as a natural bandage to help the eye heal and protect the delicate cornea. The benefit of LASIK is that the employment of the flap helps the cornea heals more quickly than it would using the PRK strategy, and reduces much of the pain felt during the healing process.
Many ophthalmologic surgeons are now offered the following evolution in LASIK surgery, which they called customized LASIK. The general process used to correct refractive blunders is the same as is employed for normal LASIK procedures, that the addition of wavefront devices used to map the unique surface of the patient’s eye. The wavefront device passes a narrow ray of light through the systems and into the eye, measuring any optical distortions that result as the light exits back out the eye. Any irregularities identified are then fed into the system so that the laser can mechanically correct for aberrations on the surface of the eye. Devotees of customized LASIK claim that the employment of wavefront technology enables surgeons to treat higher order aberrations that can make contributions to low-light visible disturbances like halos and glare not corrected by normal LASIK, eyeglasses, or contact lenses. Customised LASIK can supply patients who suffer from higher order aberrations with a rise in visible lucidity.
The final kind of laser eye surgery is LASEK, or Laser aided Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy. LASEK is especially useful for patients who’ve got a thin or flat cornea, making them debatable candidates for LASIK and customized LASIK processes. During LASEK, a tiny trephine blade is used to cut into the outer skin of the eye, called the epithelium. Once the cut has been made, the eye is washed in a mild alcohol solution to permit the sides of the epithelium to melt. This permits the surgeon to gently tease the epithelium flap out of the way to show the underlying tissue. An excimer layer reshapes the eye under the flap to correct any refractive errors, after which the flap is replaced over the treated cornea. As with LASIK, the replacement of the flap in LASEK speeds up the natural healing process and serves to attenuate pain coming from the process.
Though the final result of PRK, LASIK, customised LASIK, and LASEK is the same – the reduction of refractive blunders – the strategy by which these corrections are made differ. Each procedure has its advantages and drawbacks and is best suited for certain kinds of patients. Individuals who are considering laser eye surgery to correct their vision and reduce dependence on corrective lenses are advised to contact their ophthalmologist to inquire about available options and learn if they are a strong candidate for one of more of these processes.
