The Different Types of Lasik Procedures September 2, 2009

Various Lasik Treatments

Let’s have a closer look at the various lasik procedures available:

Conventional Lasik
Conventional lasik refers to the ablation pattern available on most lasers out there that treats a patient based upon their glasses prescription, together with fixed treatment parameters. Conventional lasik is effective for most patients but can result in more visual aberrations such as glare, halos, and night vision issues than other forms of laser treatment procedures.

Wavefront-optimised Lasik
Wavefront-optimized lasik refers to the type of laser surgery available on the Wavelight laser. Whilst this particular procedure is also based on the patient’s glasses prescription, the surgeon would also take into account other factors such as corneal curvature and thickness, and applies laser energy in a unique fashion in the periphery of the cornea.

This particular laser has also been found to reduce the aforementioned complications such as glare, halos, and other nighttime visual aberrations that are usually attributed to conventional lasik procedures.

Laser Manufacturers
With lasik eye surgery, all procedures are carried out with a specific type of laser called an excimer laser. In this respect then, all lasik procedures are quite similar to carry out.

There are however, various different laser manufacturers available, including Wavelight, Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, and Nidek, amongst numerous others. These manufacturers have all designed specific excimer lasers to suit their unique needs. In addition to all this, there are also different types of laser procedures that can be carried out, including conventional laser surgery, wavefront-optimized surgery, as well as wavefront-guided procedures.

Lastly, there is also a vastly different type of laser called a femtosecond laser, which can be used rather than the traditional mechanical microkeratome when creating the corneal flap used during lasik surgery.

Understanding Lasik Procedure September 1, 2009

What exactly is Lasik?

Lasik surgery is a an eye procedure which most people should now be somewhat familiar with, but what exactly does the process involve? Lasik stands for laser in situ keratomileusis, which basically boils down to using a precision laser just below the corneal flap (in situ) to reshape the cornea (keratomileusis).

This delicate procedure makes use of a highly specialized laser, called an excimer laser which was specifically created to improve one’s vision, correct refractive errors, as well as minimising or removing the need for spectacles or contact lenses. The lasik laser procedure serves to alter the actual shape of the cornea, (the cornea is the transparent layer covering the front of the eye).

Ioannis Pallikaris is widely credited as the innovator and developer of lasik, which originated around about 1991, although the excimer laser itself had been widely used for many years before.