Lasik
"laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis"
LASIK is a procedure that uses cool laser energy to reshape the cornea. Candidates should be in good general health & present with a normal ocular health evaluation. The surgery takes about five to ten minutes with the laser application taking less than two minutes.
The cornea is a part of the eye that helps focus light to create an image on the retina. It works in much the same way that the lens of a camera focuses light to create an image on film. The bending and focusing of light is also known as refraction. Usually the shape of the cornea and the eye are not perfect and the image on the retina is out-of-focus (blurred) or distorted.
In LASIK surgery, a precise and controlled removal of corneal tissue by a special laser, reshapes the cornea changing its focusing power. LASIK is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, by using an excimer laser. The lasik flap is created using a highly sophisticated and accurate instrument known as a"microkeratome", to cut a flap in the cornea. A hinge is left at one end of this flap. The flap is folded back revealing the stroma, the mid-section of the cornea. Pulses from a computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the stroma and the flap is replaced.
Lasek
(Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratomileusis)
Lasek is a relatively new procedure that combines the benefits of LASIK and PRK. LASEK is a refractive surgery technique developed by Italian doctor, Massimo Camellin, MD. The motivation behind LASEK was to find a surface ablation technique like PRK that induced less discomfort, offers a lower incidence of corneal haze, and provides the patient with faster vision recovery.
This type of laser vision correction does not require any corneal incision at all. A mild alcohol solution is placed on the cornea to loosen the top layer of tissue. Only the most superficial layer of the cornea is gently brushed aside. This thin flap is then replaced after the laser reshaping is complete. Less tissue is removed than with traditional Lasik. Patients with thin corneas, or patients who have had previous vision correction such as RK, can possibly now have laser vision correction safely performed. Healing may be faster than with traditional PRK. Lasek has been used...
To treat nearsightedness, the cornea is made flatter by removing tissue from the center of the cornea.
To treat farsightedness, the flat cornea is made steeper by removing peripheral tissue in a ring shape on the outer edges of the cornea. This steepens the central visual part of the cornea.
To treat astigmatism, the cornea is made less oval shaped. Astigmatism means that the eye has an oval or football shape. The laser reduces the oval shape making the focusing ability clear in all directions. Astigmatism can be treated at the same time as nearsightedness and farsightedness.