Opti-LASIK Eye Surgery

LASIK and Refractive Surgery

LASIK surgery has become a staple of vision correction in the United States upon approval by the FDA in the late 1990’s for those desiring to reduce or eliminate their dependance on eyeglasses or contact lenses. Millions of these surgeries have been preformed since without complication. Indeed it is one of the safest and easiest surgery available. It’s sole goal is to treat refractive errors.

What Are Refractive Errors?

The eye is much like a simple camera, the cornea is the lens the pupil the opening in the eye like the aperture in a camera and the retina , the film. Clear vision depends on all of this lining up perfectly much like focusing a camera. But for most purposes your eye does not have a focusing option. The retina or film in the back cannot be changed nor can the pupil or aperture, but the cornea certainly be changed which is precisely what LASIK does. Think of it as a permanent zoom lens correction for your eye thus providing clear vision always. It is all about the cornea.
You are born with a certain cornea.When the cornea is not shaped perfectly, it causes one of the conditions described below. The goal of LASIK and various forms of refractive surgery is through the used of sophisticated computer guided cameras, mathematical calculations and a very precise laser treatment, to reshape the cornea much like a jeweler fishing a fine gem but 1000 times more precise thus achieving the best vision possible. All of the below can be treated.

4 Types of Refractive Errors

There are four types of refractive errors:

Types of Refractive Surgery :

LASIK

Typically, LASIK is the procedure most used in the above conditions. It involves a laser making a micro thin incision on the front of the cornea, a hinged flap, much like a contact lens. During the procedure that is simply flipped back, the laser reshapes the cornea and the flap repositioned which heals in a matter or hours. Completely painless and done in several minutes.

PRK

Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) surgery. This procedure is performed with the same kind of excimer laser used for LASIK. PRK is done to reshape the cornea in the same fashion as LASIK for patients whose corneas are deemed by computer and clinical findings, not suited for LASIK but certainly eligible for vision correction. The differences are that healing may be delayed for several days and a contact lens is placed after the surgery. The results are equivalent to LASIK. In some cases a pretreatment can be recommended known as corneal cross linking.

PTK.

PTK is a procedure almost identical to PRK for patients with and irregular surface or the cornea due to prior injury, infection or other causes. In most cases it relives the symptoms and clears the vision much like the other procedures.

SMILE:

SMILE is a procedure much like the above. In this case after the appropriate measurements the laser actually removes a portion of the internal corneal tissue rather than treating the surface. It is relatively new but is though to have the advantage of not creating the hinged flap in certain patients.

ICL:

ICL is a micro thin contact lens inserted within the eye achieving excellent vision in patients that may be determined to be a better candidate for this as opposed to changing the corneal surface.

The excimer laser beam reshapes the cornea by removing very small amounts of tissue from the outer surface of the cornea. A computer is used to map the eye’s surface and calculate how much tissue should be removed. PRK surgery typically takes only a few minutes. However, the healing process lasts for several weeks because the cornea surface is removed and needs to heal.

The most common side effects after PRK surgery include:

• Eye pain that may last for several weeks
• Mild corneal haze right after surgery
• Glare or halos around lights for months after surgery

Choosing the Right Refractive Surgery with the Right Eye Surgeon at Saddleback Eye Medical Associates

Refractive surgery may not be an option for everyone. Talk with your eye care provider about your type of vision problem and if surgery may be right for you. At Saddleback Eye Medical Associates, our board-certified doctors are regarded as the top eye surgeons in the United States.

Since 1979, our eye doctors have performed thousands of eye procedures with the most advanced technology and highest standards of care for individuals and families.

For more information, call Saddleback Eye Medical Associates at 949-364-0225.