Last time we gave a brief overview of what Lasik surgery entails. Developed in Greece around 1991, LASIK eye surgery is a type of eye surgery that helps the patient with visions problems be able to gain back their vision, therefore alleviating their need for glasses and contacts. LASIK, which stands for laser in situ keratomileusis, which in simpler terms means a laser is applied underneath the corneal flap to reshape the cornea, thus enabling a person with vision problems to be able to see clearly again without the expense and inconvenience that goes along with glasses and contacts, all with one simply medical procedure.
This is how LASIK eye surgery works. First, a specialized eye surgeon will create a precise, thin-hinged corneal flap using a microkeratome. Then, the surgeon pulls back the flap to expose the underlying corneal tissue, and then the excimer laser reshapes the cornea in a pattern that is special to each unique patient’s needs. Next, the flap is repositioned onto the underlying cornea without sutures. LASIK surgery helps people with refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. These are the 3 basic vision problems that are seen by eye doctors, and LASIK surgery can help these problems out.
There are a variety of different lasers used during different eye surgeries, but with LASIK, there is one laser used, and that laser is the excimer laser. There are a variety of companies who make the excimer laser, but they are all basically the same laser. There are a few different procedures, though, that are used with this excimer laser. First is the Conventional LASIK. Conventional LASIK is the ablation pattern available on most lasers that treats based on the patient’s glasses prescription. This system is effective on most patients, but can result in glare, halos, and night vision issues more often then other laser treatments. Next, there is wavefront-optimized LASIK, and this is also used based of the patient’s glasses prescription, but it takes into account corneal curvature and thickness and applies laser energy in the periphery of the cornea. This laser has been found to reduce the amount of glare, halos and night vision issues seen in the previous laser treatment method. Then, there is wavefront-guided LASIK, in which the patient’s basis refractive error is addressed, along with special alterations in a patient’s eye. These 3 LASIK surgeries are the most common, but there are a variety of other specialized LASIK procedures available to help other eye issues, as well.
There are many benefits of LASIK surgery to people suffering from nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The surgery is safe, and only has a small chance of side effects. It is an easy procedure that can be finished in 5 or 10 minutes, and it is painless. The laser is very accurate because a computer guides it, so there is not a high risk of error. LASIK is also a procedure that usually only has to be done one time, so a patient doesn’t have to worry about having to undergo numerous treatments to get the desired results they want. One disadvantage to LASIK eye surgery is that some patients have reported issues such as halos, glare and decreased night vision, but this doesn’t happen to everyone as every patient’s results will vary.
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